The Amiable Flame
by Danielle Luna Soulhart
Summary: The baby has been named Tsuna and has been adopted by Giotto! Most of the staff are fond of him, but not all. And the same mystery still envelopes the new kid. Will he attract enemies? R
1. Sweet Moments

**A/N: This is a sequel for "The Sky's Tears". Even though I really didn't plan to make a continuation, but I cannot leave an open question, right? ^_^ Thanks for everyone who reviewed and who will review in the future, after all I just posted that 2 days ago. Hahaha! Everything is still set on the past, but I assure you that this fiction will be different from the rest of the familial fictions between Primo and Decimo. I think the first ten chapters will be fluffy. I just hope I can make it. :)**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

**© Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**April 2012**

* * *

**First Flicker: Sweet Moments**

Soft giggles were heard in the living room, accompanied with several incoherent and non-human languages uttered by the Vongola don, Giotto. He was currently on all smiles as he looked down and said sweet nothings to his newfound responsibility and joy, Tsunayoshi. He gave the baby a Japanese name simply because he was fascinated with Japanese culture ever since Asari became his friend. Thankfully, Asari helped him out in picking the best name for Tsuna, who in turn was more excited in naming the baby than Giotto does.

Giotto was really thankful that Tsuna came into his life, even though all the mystery still shrouded the child, especially his great resemblance to his adoptive father. Yes, Giotto decided to adopt the baby and even though it's against the hearts of Daemon, Lambo and sometimes G, he can't afford to leave the baby once again. With the help of Alaude and his connections to a law firm, he made the necessary documents and made Tsuna his legal son and probably, the next heir of Vongola Famiglia. Ever since Tsuna came, their life changed as well. Tsuna may not still capture everyone's hearts, but the mere fact that he was making everything lighter was enough proof of change. It sometimes thrilled Giotto whenever he was thinking of Tsuna's growth, and when the time he begins to have a mind of his own, he might easily get along with the people around him. His intuition told him that this child in front of him will become a great man in the near future. And he wanted to be there for his son when that happens. He hugged Tsuna, who in turn looked at him with curiosity.

**…:[]:…**

_I don't know what they were talking about, but I am sure that they are very fond of me. I enjoy their company very much and they took care of me very well. I can't really well remember way back what happened, but for me, what's more important was I found the ones that will love me eternally, especially this bright haired man before me. I looked at him with utmost curiosity as he hugged me._

_I am still young, but I can differentiate the degree of a hug coming from a friend, an acquaintance and a family. This man, whose name remains to be a tongue twister in my lips, seemed to be odd. I don't know for a particular reason but he doesn't feel like any father. But as he hugged me, I can feel his fatherly aura, and I really, really like it! So, does that mean he's my father? I touched his face with my two hands, and he looked like about to cry, and so, I laughed as I palmed his cheeks. He was kind of surprised as well, but he did not reject me and laughed along with me. He touched my forehead, my nose and pinched my cheeks, and I gave him a hearty laugh._

_I knew it! He's my father! He's my Papa!_

**…:[]:…**

"GIOTTO?" G called aloud around the house. The maids were always surprised at how G managed to raise an octave higher whenever things were pertaining to Giotto. It's quite a pity for their master to have such overprotective and strict friend like the storm guardian, they mustered. G seemed to not notice the stares that the maids were giving him. What's more important was Giotto. "Mataku, even at this times he gets missing in action…" He mumbled to himself and went a sharp turn to the living room.

To his surprise, he found Tsunayoshi actually sitting atop a lying Giotto on the carpet, enjoying himself on bouncing on his father's stomach.

G opened his mouth to scold Giotto again for leaving his office, but seeing the adorable sight can't bring him to even whisper a word to his best friend. Ever since Tsuna came (it's been two years already), the house became livelier, and as the Vongola Primo's best friend and right hand man, he knew and felt that something had changed inside Giotto. Yes, the don can still be considered as young and child-like in some situations, but seeing him like this made him jealous of the little kid. It's not that he's not fond of Tsuna (in fact, he was one of those whose heart quickly melts at just the soft touch of Tsuna, but quickly denied it) but the fact Tsuna, at the tender age of two, can immediately make people bow down to him (minus Daemon, Lambo and Alaude for obvious and various reasons). He can't deny that Tsuna was just so cute, and he was a splitting image of Giotto when he was younger. On another point, he felt jealous because of their relationship towards each other. He unconsciously let his head slide sideward, thinking of his own relationship with his slightly bratty charge.

Well….maybe not exactly…?

As he was about to leave, he felt something bumped the back of his knee and hugged tightly. He looked down and saw his most prized person – Gokudera Hayato. Minutes later, he felt the kid shivering, let alone felt his dress pants getting soaked with tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as gently as possible. Gokudera Hayato was not his son, in fact they were first degree cousins; but due to unwanted circumstances, he decided to take the kid and became his legal guardian. He patted Hayato's head lightly, prompting for the little kid to look up to him.

"I'm scared…" Hayato replied with his small voice. His shivering died a little, but the tears flowing from his eyes did not stop.

"Scared of what?" G asked again, and he was answered when Hayato pointed his tiny index finger towards a menacing brown-furred cat sitting under the coffee table. G did his best to stifle his laugh, but he found it totally adorable that his little cousin was frightened over a cat. He patted Hayato's head once more and told him, "Don't be scared. It won't bite."

Hayato looked at him with such strong glares and pouted. "It does bite!" He exclaimed. "The cat did bit one of our maids on her hand and bled!"

'_Mataku…Hayato can be so observant at times…'_ "The cat would naturally bite her because it's the maid's fault for handling it the wrong way. The cat doesn't want to be just held by the belly, you know." G explained.

"But still! It did bite the maid! I want it to go away!" And as if a threat, the cat advanced three steps towards Hayato. Hayato stiffened and hid behind his cousin's leg. "S-see! It's going t-to b-bite meee!"

"Calm down Hayato, it's not going to pounce on you until you do something to it!"

"Dakara~!" came a whiny retort from Hayato and small beads of tears formed at the corner of his eyes. He continued shivering as the cat advanced on.

Because of this, Giotto exited the living room along with Tsuna in his arms. Little Tsuna was resting on his adoptive father's shoulder and played with Giotto's bright, almost golden hair. Giotto made no rejection as he found out that children like bright colors and it helped them to adjust their eyesight more. Back to Giotto, he patted his best friend's shoulder and asked:

"What's going on, G?"

"THERE YOU ARE!" G let out a full-scale yell towards Giotto who closed his eyes but had a tremendous effect on little Tsuna. The brown-haired tyke looked he was about to cry, but his occasional hiccups told the two that the kid was trying to hold it in. Giotto looked at G with menacing glare and started to pat Tsuna's clothed back with his free hand, soothing fatherly words to him. It seemed to calm the baby down and G inwardly thanked for Giotto's innate fatherly gestures. "U-uhm…anyway, to answer your question, there's nothing going on."

Upon hearing that, a shriek of protest came from below, making G and Giotto turn to the teary eyed Hayato. "There is something wrong! There is…" Then he sniffed. He was really about to cry, "But big brother G doesn't see it."

"O-oi, Hayato," G intercepted, "It's not I don't, but I'm telling you that cats are harmless creatures until you provoke them."

"B-but…but…IT'S COMING!" Hayato shouted, and like a domino, it affected Tsuna so he screamed as well. Giotto and G looked down and it's true, the cat was charging forward! But since it was rather late, the cat had already scratched G's arm pretty deeply and blood gushed out from it. Out of reaction, G swatted away the cat with his arm, causing for it to run downstairs. G paled from that, but not for himself; it's for his little cousin.

"B-b-b-bl-blood…" Hayato stuttered and melted down the wall, soul stricken with fear. It's not the blood he feared but the cat in front of him. In truth, Hayato feared cats, and it's just a good thing that he doesn't have any heart complications or any panic attacks. His tears finally dropped and both of his hands closed into his face. He bawled. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

G wanted to comfort the little guy and tell him he's alright, but Giotto's hand suddenly stopped him and saw his head shaking in negation. He fully understood the situation: he needed to have his arm treated first before talking to Hayato. The little silver-haired guy was really upset, and to think that at his age he was just concerned about the welfare of his idiotic cousin. _'Yes…I'm an idiot…'_ G thought. He can't blame his baby cousin for what he felt and he was really sorry. With one last look, G excused himself.

Giotto sighed. His best friend can be stupid at times, but looking down at Hayato, he hasn't seen G acted so much gentle and brotherly to anyone but him. G was always the hotheaded, suspicion-driven, impatient best friend yet industrious, reliable and responsible storm guardian and right hand man. When it's business, it will always be business; that's why G's been the one checking on him regarding his unfinished (most of time time) paperwork. Sometimes he silently prayed that someone would take over G's tempered life and tone it down a little, and thanking God nowadays because it happened. Hayato was an angel, and a copy of G's own personality and physicality. It wouldn't hurt if G would learn something from Hayato as his storm guardian taught his little charge about the gist in life. He crouched down, thanking that there was a nearby bean bag at the side of the opening of the living room and placed Tsuna there. He patted Hayato's head and said:

"You know, technically what your cousin told you is true," Giotto said, not quite sure why on earth he was helping his idiot friend. "Cats are friendly creatures unless you do something to them badly or even taunting them with eyes. It happened to me before, you know?" This revelation made Hayato look to him in interest.

"What happened to you then, uncle Giotto?" Hayato asked innocently as he cautiously looked towards Giotto. He sniffed away his distressed feeling and listened to the don.

'_Really now? I'm just 22 and this kid calls me uncle?_' Giotto smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's not something so desirable, Hayato. But I was stupid back then and your cousin was laughing at me. I was actually challenging a stray cat by the eye when I was younger. G was with me at the park back then. I did that because I was so curious why would G love cats and fascinated at how sparkly their eyes were. But, it seemed that the cat thought I was going to attack so it scratched and bit me. I ended up in the hospital later to get vaccinations." Then he laughed.

"That's not funny at all, uncle Giotto." Hayato said and frowned more.

"I know, but it's the truth." Giotto said. "We fully understand that you do not like cats, but they are also friendly, you know. Just don't do the same thing I did."

Hayato lowered his head and hummed in reply. Honestly, he doesn't understand what his uncle really wanted to tell him. He's been scared of cats ever since! He can still remember the time when he was at his old house and there were lots of cats! He shivered at that thought. But then, he felt something land on his lap, and it was little Tsuna's body. It's a good thing that the bean bag was also close to Hayato, or else, Tsuna could have hurt himself. Being a baby he was, Tsuna can't help but play around and always wanting to touch someone. It has been a trait that Giotto noticed a year ago. The Vongola Primo made no comment on Tsuna's prone position on Hayato's lap; in fact it was amusing to look at. He was waiting for Hayato's response.

**…:[]:…**

_Uwah! It's so soft! I don't know its name but it's so soft. I kept on bouncing into this pillow-like thing and it amused me so much. But, I can feel sadness around me. I saw papa talking to a small boy, but bigger than me; and he was crying! I stopped bouncing and I wondered why he was crying. I tried to listen, but my underdeveloped ears cannot still understand most of the adult words. I feel envious of that boy beside me because they can understand them. Then, when papa talked, the boy mad a sad face. It made me more curious. I attempted to reach him, but it turned out I lost my balance and fell onto the boy's lap. _

_Uwah! It's much more comfortable that this pillow thing. I decided I like to sit on this one._

_I noticed the sudden quietness between them, but I didn't mind because it was too soft! I wiggled as they both tried to calm me down. But I want to play! And this is so soft! I want to stay!_

_But, was this even a thing or a person? I don't know. But what I know was this was soft._

**…:[]:…**

Hayato doesn't know how to deal with a very wiggly Tsuna on his lap, basically because Hayato was scared that he might hurt little Tsuna. Even though he was 2 years old, Tsuna was still like a baby, with his chubby cheeks and brown hair protruding on all sides like his adoptive father. At first, Hayato thought Tsuna was so behaved, but it seemed that all failed his expectations. Tsuna was the playful type of a baby, nevertheless never cried if he fell on his own or when it's time for diaper change. But Hayato thought he was super cute.

Uhm, not with this time though. Tsuna was like swimming on his lap.

Giotto can't help but snort, fully amused as he tried to prevent Tsuna from wiggling too much onto Hayato's lap. Truly, Tsuna made wonders among people, and Hayato was one proof because he made the kid's mind divert from his fear from cats, probably afraid now of hurting Tsuna. _'Pfft, what a way to get attention now, huh, Tsuna?'_ He thought jovially.

Just then, Tsuna stopped and looked at Hayato's strained eyes squarely. It had been five seconds before drawing the two guys into a surprise; also, enough to bring G (who just finished bandaging) into his wildest ideas. Tsuna practically tried to sit on Hayato's lap (with the help for his death grip onto Hayato's clothes) and hugged him. With a babyish giggle, he cuddled Hayato like some stuff toy that was given to him. Giotto and G can't both help to laugh heartily, and in this case brought Giotto to notice his best friend. In Hayato's case, he can't help but blush on the brightest shade of red. The cuddling continued, and it seemed Tsuna was overjoyed at being laughed at because of his little act of embarrassing Hayato, but he lost his grip, causing him to stumble backwards and effectively shutting the laughter off.

It's a good thing that G taught Hayato with reflexes at an early age. Hayato was quick to hold Tsuna.

And he was embracing the baby.

**…:[]:…**

_Kyaaaah! I knew it was a person! He was a boy like me. I heard papa saying the word 'boy' whenever he's praising me. But never mind that. What' more important was that I'm hugging this boy. I was really worried because he was so sad, and it somehow scared me. I don't want people being sad. So, I tried sitting by myself and hugged him tight. Then, I heard laughter because of what I did and I laughed at them too. But, I lost my balance. I thought I'm going to die, but the boy in front of me saved me. And he hugged me back! Kyaaaaah! I am so happy! I want to know this boy but, well, I can't speak yet. _

_Oh well, I'll try harder! I want to speak soon and move on my own. It's because I want to be at papa's side forever. I want to speak his name countless times. And I want to touch, hug and play with him without even stumbling back. I looked back at the kid who saved me, and gave him a full blown giggle as I touched his cheeks in gratitude. Hey, did his cheeks go red? Was he sick? Oh no! But, I still heard laughter, so, it's okay, right? He's okay too._

_I want to grow fast, so that I can play with them._

**…:[]:…**

"You're his savior, Hayato," G commented with a loving smile. He wanted to use this opportunity to talk to his cousin and apologize. "You've become a big boy."

Hayato's eyes shone at that praise, "Really? I did?"

"Yep! Because of that, Giotto is proud of you as well. Even Tsuna approves of you! See?"

Hayato was blushing red when Tsuna held him preciously. His fears have subsided and the praise made him convinced that he was a good and brave boy. He looked at Giotto and G, both earning a nod and then hugged Tsuna brotherly. He said, "You know, this is the tenth time I tried to avoid you because I thought I will hurt you." This made Tsuna looked up to him, "But since I am four years old and I'm strong enough, I know I can protect you instead! From now on, I'll call you Juudaime!"

'_Oh brother, both cousins are alike.' _ Giotto thought as he face-palmed, _'G must have rubbed off on Hayato. Looks like my son won't have a peaceful life from now on."_ Then he sighed.

'_Keh. So full of himself…'_ G thought simultaneously with Giotto, _'The kid has the guts to say that. But he's still a kid. A kid!"_ Then he snorted. Even though he has every knack of teasing Hayato, he can't deny himself that he's proud of him.

The hugging session continued, apparently because Tsuna doesn't want to let go of Hayato, and Hayato was glaring daggers at his cousin for trying to separate him and little Tsuna. Giotto, in turn, kept sighing, knowing that Hayato's 'right hand man' days were going to start. He was going to become like G in such unfashionable way, and he doesn't want to think about it. Tsuna, on the other hand, was babyishly oblivious to the situation and just giggled all the way, continuing hugging Hayato at the same time.

At one corner, a kid with black hair peeked shyly. He wanted to join the fun, but he was a newcomer. He wanted also to touch that cute little baby that attracted him. _'Hayaku, otou-san…'_ he thought, clutching his yukata.

* * *

**A/N: I so seriously wanted to have this over 10 pages. But if I did, I will not be able to stop myself. XD Oh well, I bet you guys can thoroughly guess who'd be next to show. I don't know if I am able to do justice on the fluff thing, but I hope you like it! By the way, Hayaku means hurry in Japanese. Also, sorry of the slight delay! Review! :) **


	2. Katana Masters

**A/N: Unya! Thanks everyone for reviewing, although I don't know how to thank you guys! Saying that my fiction is fluffy makes me float in the sky! :)) I really never expected that. Hahaha! And because of that, I'm hyped! Here's the next installment! Hope you like it!**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

**© Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**April 2012**

* * *

**Second Flicker: Katana masters**

A loud wailing woke G up, wondering what's going on. But his body won't let him get up because of the tremendous fatigue he felt from his short mission – a trip to the nearby city of Italy to investigate on the rumored killing of an innocent eight year old child. Ever since that happened, the whole famiglia can't help think why people would target children instead of normal people, adults to say. He was slightly injured, much to Hayato's horror, but everything else was fine. He sighed. How was he going to check things up if he's this tired? Sooner, the wails got louder, but due to its increased volume, he was able to discern its location – at the garden. Who would in their right minds will cry at 3:30 o'clock in the morning at the garden?

Having no choice, G forced himself to get up and peered into his window first. He can't risk another fight, can he? He'll die out of fatigue if that happened. Plus, it's freaking 3! And who in their right minds would dared attack Vongola at this hour? He sighed. As he looked outside, his eyes can't actually see what's down, basically it's still dark out there and, there were no light posts near the garden. _'I have to tell Giotto that…'_ he thought. Alas, his eyesight can't adjust, but the wailing kept there was something that crossed in a speed that made G's senses heightened.

But, as he was getting his robe to check the gardens, Asari suddenly barged in.

"Sumimasen, G-san," Asari said in a slightly panicked voice, "I was wondering if Takeshi came here?"

G raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Who was Takeshi? And why would in the name of Gaia a guy will come into his room at 3 in the morning? G sighed inwardly. "If you're quite aware of the time, Asari-_san_," G said, stressing the honorifics used by the Japanese to point his irritation, "It's almost 4 in the morning. I'm so fatigued that I wanted a good sleep. And it's certainly assuring that there would be no way a guy named Takeshi would come and barge into my room!"

Asari knew that of course. He's not that insensitive to not know the time and he, himself, should be sleeping in his own quarters as well. But, his anxiety was eating him up and the very person called Takeshi was the center of it. He casted his head low in shame and sadness was seen, "Ah. I'm sorry, G."

G immediately felt that pinch in his heart. Usually, he would see Asari in all smiles as if he was not a part of a mafia famiglia. He was really fit as Giotto's rain guardian because his calm and friendly demeanor washed away worries in the family, even with the likes of Daemon and Alaude. But for every element was an equivalent flaw, and that flaw was the rain cannot calm itself. G, despite of his strained muscles, walked towards Asari and gave him a pat in the shoulder, "I should be the one who's sorry. The fatigue's just rushing into my bones. But, who exactly is 'Takeshi'?"

Asari looked at him and replied, "My…brother…"

"EH? You're kidding, right?" Throughout his journey with Asari, G knew nothing of Asari's family. Well, the rain guardian was fond of talking about his family, but never did in a single chance he talked about his little brother. G held his temples as if he was having a headache, "You never told me about a little brother."

"That's because I'm not quite sure how I am going to tell on about him." Asari said, his fists clenching his yukata, "Takeshi is not my full-blood brother, but a half-brother."

"Oh." Was all G said.

"When I first saw Takeshi, he was really an aggressive child, probably because of his relationship with mom and his lousy father who left him into his mother's care. Mom was sickly and she could not properly attend to Takeshi's needs. But most of all, mother is always doting on me, and perhaps Takeshi took the notion that mother likes me more than he does."

"So, why is he here with you?"

"Mom passed away two years ago, worse; she died on the same date of Takeshi's birthday. He just turned two years old back then." Asari explained, "Plus, I can't let his father have him after knowing what kind of life he was taking. I cannot bring the thought of Takeshi growing up in an ill-mannered life. So, I took him and left him with my cousins back in my grandparents and waited for two more years before I take custody of him. I just arrived with him three days ago. But since I have a mission, I don't have any choice but to leave him here."

Before G could give his opinion, the wail came back in a heightened scale. Asari was quick to look at the window and unlike G, he was able to see the quick movements at the garden. G just peered behind him and again saw that fast-pacing thing and so, he pointed it out to Asari. "I know you have a good sight, Asari. If you can see that fast running thing, I think it's the one that causes immense trouble at the garden."

Asari nodded and without a word, he and G left.

…**:[]:…**

"C-c-cold…" Takeshi mumbled as he sniffed his sorrow away. He has been crying for almost two hours already. He was also tired of running from a beast that was chasing him and it scared him a lot. Moreover, it's so dark! He was crying so hard and ran fast that he didn't notice the shallow crevice located at the far side of the garden. It was going to be used to build a fountain. Thankfully, that crevice was covered, and until now, the beast hasn't found him yet.

"Hayaku…otou-san…tatsukete…" He mumbled, shivering from the extreme cold that the night brought him. He was not yet used to a foreign country, considering that he came just few days ago. He really doesn't want to leave his home country – Japan – but he has no other choice, or else, he'll be without a father.

Sooner, a rustle was heard and instantly, Takeshi curled himself further to protect himself. He doesn't know what to do. More rustles filled the air and horror struck him, the beast found him! And, it's a big cat! Takeshi screamed for life as the big cat tried to destroy the barrier surrounding the crevice. Takeshi tried his best to mold himself into the hole, hoping that the soil will eat him up and the cat will not be able to notice him anymore. But his wishes were in vain. The cat was able to destroy that metal fence and hoped into the crevice, and a scream filled the air.

Takeshi had never been this scared before.

Until, he heard exactly three slices echoing in space.

The black-haired kid opened his eyes slowly, in fear that the cat might still be there. But his eyes seemed to be deceiving him, or so that's what he thought. His father was there in front of him to save him. His precious father.

"To-to-TOU-SAN!" Takeshi shouted, quickly uncurling and running towards Asari despite the fatigue and the injuries he acquired. He once again cried but not of fear this time; it's because he was able to see his father again. "What…what took you so long?"

Asari rubbed the back of Takeshi to soothe him down, "Gomen ne, Takeshi-kun. I was away for work. I wasn't able to tell you immediately because I was called."

But Asari didn't receive a reply because Takeshi has fallen fast asleep. He smiled as he clutched the kid close to his heart, regretting for now properly assuring his safety and giving information to his famiglia. On the other hand, G was incredulously looking at Asari, confused to what the boy has spoken a while ago.

"Asari," G called, "Didn't you just say Takeshi is your little brother?" Then he pointed sharply towards the sleeping kid, his facing drawing an outraged expression, "BUT WHY DID HE CALL YOU FATHER?"

Asari laughed sheepishly, "Well, that's a part of the story that I left." He said. But when he saw G seething and his teeth clashing against each other, he continued, "Ano sa, please don't think of anything misunderstanding, G. Even though we have an age gap of nine years, Takeshi is still my little brother. He probably calls me father because I took care of him since then."

"Well, you should makes things clear for the boy already or else, he'll really call you father."

"I'm working on it, G."

A swift pause came before G gave in to a yawn. "I guess we should return inside. My legs are about to give out on me."

Asari laughed sadly, "I'm sorry G."

"Tch. Just this time, this time." Then he started walking away, with occasionally wincing in pain.

…**:[]:…**

Giotto was beyond surprised. He was currently sitting at the presidential chair waiting for his breakfast to arrive and as he waited, he observed everything from left to right. For every breakfast, it's always hard to get everyone ready for morning, especially eating together as what Giotto wanted. It was a trait he learned that strengthened bonds within a family, even though they were not a family by blood. He believed that once they ate together, tensions will be lessened and they will be able to understand each other more. But, no matter what he does, the dining table was always vacant with one, two or three seats. And he gave up on the thought that he will be able to eat peacefully with his guardians.

He guessed he gave up too early.

Right now, his guardians were seated in front of him, and they were ahead of him by 15 minutes. When he got down, he was surprised to see his guardians complete at the table, munching away their hunger and occasionally talking about their missions. Even the fearsome Alaude was there! Giotto looked sideward discreetly. Looks like the world was going to end soon.

Suddenly, the subject of his thoughts looked to him and talked to him. "Giotto, where's Tsuna?"

Giotto gasped. Why would in the world Alaude ask for Tsuna! Truly, the world was going to end! "U-uh…he's still sleeping."

"Ah, I see." Alaude said then took a sip of his coffee. "I was expecting you'll be with Tsunayoshi today."

"Huh? And why is that?"

"Isn't today your schedule to go to the doctor?"

Giotto was creasing his eyebrows. Even though the plate has been laid in front of him already, he can't start eating because he was curious of Alaude's sudden inquiries. "And why would I do that?"

"Are you an idiot, Giotto?" Alaude was getting impatient now, "Do you even know what you're asking?"

"I could ask the same to you. There's no way I could bring Tsuna to the doctor because the doctor himself is going here. SO, why bother?"

All heads now turned to Alaude, and being indifferent he was, Alaude made no comment, remained a passive face and drank his coffee. But behind that mug was the slightest tinge of red of embarrassment he caused himself. He didn't even see that one coming. Everyone was holding their breaths down for a possible laughter, but of course, who would want to be arrested for laughing and spend 48 years in jail, right?

Oh well…

Giotto seemed to be oblivious of the others' struggle and began eating; apparently he was already immune of Alaude's indifferent attitude. Nevertheless, he always saw Alaude as a reliable and independent member of the Vongola, and it was a great advantage for them to have an independent member. Yes, it has its flaws like Alaude can desert them in time of strife, but because of his undying trust towards his comrade, he just let the will of time carry on.

Maybe, he thought, Alaude has other plans why he asked that question.

Unknowingly enough, yes Alaude does.

Ever since in the start, it was in Alaude's intentions to check on the baby. But because Giotto was watching him 24/7 (more than his responsibility as the Vongola don), he can't execute his plans. If ever Giotto will take Tsunayoshi (as he preferred calling the young adoptee) to the doctor, he can immediately call his family's doctor at the hospital and he'd recommend him to Giotto. It's one way to examine the baby thoroughly without having him being linked. But since it failed, he has no choice but to wait, again.

There was about 5 second of silence between them and G was the one to break it. Upon finishing his plate, G wiped his mouth and faced Asari who was a little diagonally aligned to his position. Staring at him a little bit made Asari look at him and the message that was held within G's eyes meant a thing. Asari stiffened then slumping into his chair, making Giotto notice. But because his butler came and handed him the phone, he wasn't able to ask. So, G made the move.

"Asari, where's Takeshi? Is he still sleeping?"

All could Asari do was to look at twelve pairs of eyes gaping shock at him, including Giotto who seemed to stop talking to the caller.

…**:[]:…**

When Takeshi woke up, he noticed that his father was not beside him. He wanted to scream, but he resolved that crying won't do him anything good. He doesn't want to be a burden to his father anymore. He wanted to stay by his side and help him in any way he could. He looked around the room and it was scary to be left alone in such humongous room for a four-year old like him. But, even though he's still not used into the surroundings, he tried his best to shrug them away. With that, he left the bed and went out of the room.

He let his big, black eyes wander around, amusing himself in glancing at those big paintings hanged in the mahogany walls. Having a good sight, he was able to determine which was original and which was only reproduced. He kept himself busy looking at those wonderful pieces until he heard a wail coming from the adjacent room. Curious, he cautiously looked sideways before peering into the room.

There, he saw a big, cream, rounded crib with a white satin canopy. It was filled with a thick mattress and fluffy pillows that protected the baby, at the same time felt comfortable. Takeshi went inside to look more and saw a baby crying, with his cheeks red and hands folded close to his chest. He closed into the crib, took a stool nearby and sat, watching the baby as he cried. But, he can't determine what the baby needed: was he hungry, or hurt, or needing for diaper change? How can a four year old know? For some reason, Takeshi felt that he needed to protect this baby, unlike the way he felt when he was in his previous family. He knew that his current father took him because of what happened, and he was grateful to him. He always saw Asari as a great man, and he will follow him to the ends of the earth. But most of all, he's his father, right?

Instinctively, he lent out a hand towards the crying baby, bringing it close to those tightly fisted hands and massaging it gently, hoping for the baby to calm down. He rubbed those chubby, little fingers with his index finger and hummed a random rhythm. He continued doing that for almost ten minutes until the sobs of the child lessened, with occasional hiccups due to excessive crying.

Then, something made Takeshi so shocked.

The baby must have felt his concern and his tiny hands wrapped the hand of Takeshi. This made him blush a hundredfold, extremely not expecting this to happen. The baby's grip was strong, and every time he was attempting to pull, the baby would just pull back with double force. And Takeshi couldn't just pull harder or he'll break the baby's hands! He covered his face with his free hand, totally embarrassed and unsure of what to do next. He was beginning to worry about Asari if his father will come back to the room and find it empty.

'_Tou-san will panic…'_ he thought.

But at the same time, he cannot take a thought of leaving the baby after feeling so accepted. It seemed like the baby just wanted someone to notice him, he thought, and it reflected back at him as well.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang that occurred. Instantly, Takeshi turned his head to see who's around.

Apparently, it's no other than the father of the child, Giotto.

Giotto was beyond shock, first at having his intuition telling him about Tsuna and secondly the mere presence of this boy in front of him. He was not cautious of him, but he was having zero information as to where this child came from. From the look of the kid, he seemed to be struggling in his sit, and Giotto noticed that he was tugging at his hand, but cannot do so. He took steps closer and saw that Tsuna's hands were holding the kid's hand. He inwardly smiled. So, Tsuna has made another friend. Slowly but surely, Giotto walked towards the black-haired kid and kneeled in front of him, surprising the child.

"Hey there," Giotto started as he smiled, "I'm Giotto and I am the head of this family. May I know your name?" He said this in full course Italian.

But Takeshi could not comprehend what he was talking about? He started to feel bad about not understanding the older man and feared that he might get a spank once he did not answer. But he assumed too much. He saw Giotto laugh sheepishly. His teary-looking eyes gaped at the Vongola don.

"Wari wari," Giotto said, completely turning his language into Japanese. It's a good thing he looked closely to the child's facial features or else he would not have realized he's an Asian, moreover a Japanese. "I thought you're Italian like me." Seeing there's no reaction from the kid, Giotto took this opportunity to know him, "I'm Giotto. I'm the head of this family. Onamae wa nan desuka?"

Takeshi seemed to light up because someone actually talked the same language as he does (apart from Asari of course). When he first arrived in Italy, he got scared of the people around him simply because of the language barrier. He can't determine if the person was good or bad. He sometimes relies on words to be able to judge people. But of course, he's a kid. What more can you expect? With a small but heart-warming smile, he replied, "I-I am Takeshi…Yamamoto Takeshi desu."

Giotto gave out a warm chuckle, "Haha! Such a polite person. I just know someone who's like you."

"Who is it, Giotto-san?"

"Asari." Giotto said. "Asari Ugetsu. He's a very close friend of mine."

"A-ah! He's my father!" Takeshi bravely and proudly announced.

"Oh? So I have been told." Then as if on cue, Asari popped into the room.

"Takeshi!" Asari called, rushing to Takeshi's side and hugged him, "Are you alright?"

"Mou, don't hug too much or you'll pull my arm." Takeshi said, pouting.

Asari blinked his eyes, looking at Takeshi's serious pouting expression. Without asking (and not even excusing himself to Giotto, who was just smiling all the way) he followed the length of his brother's arm and saw that it was being held by baby Tsuna. But even before Asari could ask, Takeshi already explained himself.

"When I woke up, I noticed that you're not around. So I decided to look for you. But I was scared and somehow got lost, and at the same time happy because I saw those wonderful drawings on the wall." Giotto had to hold back a snort at Takeshi's little wording for painting. It's just adorable. "Then, I heard a cry from this room so I went in and saw this baby. When I touched him, he doesn't let me go already" Takeshi finished.

"That's because Tsuna wants to be friends with you." Giotto said, smiling at Asari who in turn got the message.

Asari let go of Takeshi and turned to the calmed Tsuna, stroking the baby's head gently. "This is little Tsunayoshi, Takeshi. He is the adorable child of Giotto here." Then he pointed the Primo. "Isn't Tsuna adorable?"

Takeshi actually blushed. He looked at Tsuna who was currently back asleep while clutching Takeshi's hand. He can't deny the fact that Tsuna was really cute. "U-un! He's cute. But, is it really true he wanted to make friends?"

Giotto nodded, "Of course. As you know, babies cannot talk and they can only express their feelings through touch or their cries. So, when he touches your hand, it means that he wants you by his side."

'_Since when Giotto became so fatherly?'_ Asari thought behind his smile. He was not really expecting this personality change in Giotto. _'Must have been Tsuna's doing.'_ Then he nodded to himself, agreeing all the way to his thought, _'There's no mistaking it.'_

"But, how should I eat when Tsuna is holding my hand?" Takeshi asked and the grumble in his stomach proved it.

Giotto laughed, "Oh yeah, you haven't eaten breakfast yet. I'll get one for you." Then he walked away.

Asari and Takeshi watched the silly don walk away and later looking at each other before chuckling. However, in Asari's case, this was the first time he has heard Takeshi laugh. _'Well, I don't want to foil his dreams of having a dad, but I simply can't be a dad to him.'_ He thought. With that, he held Takeshi's shoulder and talked to him sincerely.

"Takeshi, I want to tell you that I am happy because you're here. But I want to tell you something."

Takeshi's eyes blinked and like a good child he was, he nodded and listened to his 'father'.

"Takeshi, I'm not you dad. I'm your half-brother."

"I know that." Takeshi said calmly, looking at Asari's eyes directly. Even though he was a kid, he knew very well his relationship with Asari. In fact, Asari was the one the he really looked up to. "I know that you're my brother, but the way you project towards me is so fatherly. Dad never showed me anything like that. Mom has been always seeing you as the best. I told myself I wished I was like big brother. But it didn't happen. Then everything is destroyed. You're the only one that helped me. And so, I can't help calling you father."

Asari was truly touched by those words, but he can't exactly accept being daddy as of now. Plus, it's not really appropriate. He smiled at Takeshi more, and said, "Well, I can be both father and brother to you, but would it be more fun if closed in our distance? It's more appropriate to call me onii-san."

Takeshi pondered on that, and then looked at Tsuna. Having an older brother instead of a father seemed not to be a bad idea. Perhaps Tsuna was the very reason why he wanted to become an older brother himself. He can play with and protect Tsuna at the same time without having too much gap, and he thought that it was the message that his nii-chan Asari wanted to tell him. And so, looking at Asari, he beamed a very bright smile and nodded. "Okay! You're my nii-chan now!"

And Asari was delighted.

Giotto was behind the frame of his room's door, watching the duo with contentment. He knew Asari's attitude and his stubbornness emerged at times of dire situations. He knew Asari was never a warfreak person. He knew the man loved peace. And the moment he's fighting, he knew that Asari was keeping everything inside. Asari was suffering from emotional distress, and his silent pride told him about his stubborn approach of not telling or showing his feelings especially to his close friends because he doesn't want to involve them in his own problems, which Giotto thought was more problematic. But now that Takeshi was around, plus that amazing charm Tsuna possessed, he was satisfied and calmed that Asari will begin to show his true feelings and capabilities.

In the end, the trio ended up eating together in the bedroom as they watched Tsuna.

Oblivious, Tsuna's face drew out a smile, satisfied of what he has done. Plus, he gained a new friend!

* * *

**A/N: Hallo again! I bet you're going to ask me later about the snippets. Hahaha. I intentionally did not include any snippets here because I'm trying to convey Takeshi's feelings. On the first chapter, it was focused on Tsuna's relationship towards other people, that's why there're snippets of thoughts included. Don't worry, as long as Tsuna is still a baby, I'll include snippets. Another, you might find Asari's and Takeshi's relationship misleading, and the truth about it is they're really half-brothers. If you're paying attention to the explanation, you'll know. I hope you like this chapter. The next character shall be a surprise. :) Sorry for the delay again! **

**PS: Do you think I need a beta? Is my grammar okay? :O  
**


	3. Silver Black

**A/N: I don't know how I am going to react on all of your reviews. It's already eating me whole! :)) I sincerely thank you guys from the bottom of my heart and I hope that I could attract more readers. Actually, the whole fluff thing is the main plot of it all. XD I realized that it's not satisfying enough for you guys to read. **

**And to Ms. Lunar Generation (gotta shorten that one XD), I don't hate cats. I even love them! I even have lots of them in my house. XD It's just that it's so fun using them as a villain. And hey, that 'big cat' is…OKAY! QUIZ TIME! XD See the end of my authoress notes later after you read this, okay? :) On with the story!**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

**© Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**April 2012**

**Third Flicker: Silver Black**

It has been three days already and Takeshi was as familiar as any resident in the Vongola mansion. Within those three days, he was able to learn different things about Giotto, his guardians and everything within the house with the exception of explaining those mafia businesses. Also, within those days, he was able to spend his time observing everything with his nii-chan, Asari, and even has the priviledge of watching several practices such as fencing between G and Giotto. And, in those days, he managed to acquire a new friend.

Hmm, it's more appropriate to say 'a rival'.

And that was Hayato.

When Hayato learned about the new kid (on Takeshi's second day of learning), he immediately planned ahead on how to know this suspicious person and foil his 'plans'. He looked like an amateur and idiotic detective who doesn't know how to conceal himself from the public and was wearing a silly undercover suit. To prove that, he was spotted by Daemon's intense senses and him being him (no duh), he was quickly irked by how Hayato dressed – the kid was wearing a white baggy shirt (big enough for him to wear, so probably it's G's), his denim pants, a long brown coat, a cap with a toy propeller on top, and the worse of it all, a green scarf that was wrapped all over his face, leaving only the eyes exposed. But because of his unmistakably silver hair, the mist guardian spotted him sneaking through his room, finding the new brat. Daemon practically hated loitering kids, and these types of kids (according to him) should be punished.

Sadly, Hayato became the subject of Daemon's sadism.

Thinking Hayato as a wannabe (and wannabe for all the brat could muster), Daemon personified himself as the living devil feeding on kids, with matching bat wings, a "fork", large horns, and a tail as wide as the rope that was kept in the cabinet (how the hell that was calculated?), all thanks to his illusion. When he approached Hayato, the kid turned white like bond paper, and the lights went off. Much to his delight, it didn't make him the master of the horror booth simply because G gave him a head-blowing upper cut punch straight under his jaw. Giotto could only sigh in desperation because of his guardian's occasional stupidity.

And by meaning 'occassional' meant the worst possible cases of stupidity. However, Giotto never seen Alaude do something 'stupid' yet.

Alaude sneezed hard after in the other room.

Then, later that day, Hayato (after recovering from his 'traumatic' experience) heard several squeals of laughter inside his Asari-niisan's chambers. He assumed that it was the cloud guardian and was having an episode of retardation. He even wanted to tell this to Giotto. But, when he peeked in, he saw a rolling Tsuna (no puns intended) on the mattress laid on the carpeted floor while holding a handful of black hair from the kid he was supposed to be searching. The kid was laughing heartily, enjoying the tug on his head.

And that's the start of Hayato's over-protectiveness…?

**~~FLASHBACK~~**

"_**OI!" Hayato exclaimed and confronted the kid, "What are you doing to Juudaime!"**_

_**Takeshi stopped laughing and looked at Hayato with his bright ebony eyes. He seemed not alarmed by how Hayato approached him. He smiled and simply said, "Yo!" Then he resumed laughing when Tsuna rolled on his stomach and pounded his little fisted hands on the mattress. Takeshi was very amused to pay attention to Hayato.**_

_**Because of that, Hayato's teeth clenched and without warning, he hastily yet gently grabbed Tsuna and hugged him close. Takeshi sat, confused of what the other kid did. "Ano, Tsuna might get hurt, you know." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.**_

"_**You're the one that's going to hurt him, jerk!" Hayato retorted, pouting to emphasize his dislike for this newcomer. Tsuna seemed too oblivious of what was happening and was enjoying the fact that Hayato-niichan was holding him. All the baby did was to play with Hayato's hair.**_

"_**Eh? What did I do?" Takeshi asked, scratching his head. Seriously, this kid was misleading everything. "Why would I hurt Tsuna? In fact, I'm here to guard him because Asari-niichan told me to take care of Tsuna." Then he smiled.**_

_**Hayato gasped in surprise and with his mobile hand, he pointed it to Takeshi. "YOU! You're the cause why that old man Daemon scared me to death! You're so sly! As sly as…" Then he creased his eyebrows.**_

_**Takeshi tilted his head sideways, trying to comprehend what Hayato wanted to tell him. When the kid didn't finish talking, he repeated the last sentence, "As sly as…what?"**_

"_**As sly as…as sly as…" Then a light bulb emerged atop of Hayato's head, "As sly as a flying squirrel!"**_

'_**HUH? A squirrel?' Takeshi thought. "Uh…" He was actually lost in thought because of Hayato's choice of animal, or whatsoever description for him. But then, being friendly he was, he extended an arm and smiled at him, "I'm Takeshi, Yamamoto Takeshi." He said. "I just transferred here and this place is really awesome! What's your name?"**_

_**It's really a good thing that Hayato knew Japanese first before Italian, or else they won't understand each other. Smugly looking, Hayato made a 'hmph' sound and ignored Takeshi's hand. Instead, he pointed him once again, declaring, "I'm Gokudera Hayato! And from now on you're my rival! You got that? I'm only Juudaime's right hand man and you can't take it! Remember that!"**_

_**Takeshi quickly withdrew his hand and scratched his nape, laughing sheepishly, "I-is that so? I think that's fine."**_

_**Hayato's jaw dropped. 'Seriously? He's taking my challenge?' He thought and smirked, 'Bring it on, loser!'**_

_**Hayato looked at Takeshi with such intensity and Takeshi just looked back at him with soft but fiery look. Tsuna, still being held by Hayato but was now facing Takeshi, looked at the two and giggled. It's just so nice to have friends. But he noticed the sudden gloomy aura around them and it scared him a little. And so to ease that, he wiggled his way out of Hayato's grip and crawled over to Takeshi's. Hayato thought that Takeshi was luring Tsuna to approach him so his reaction was quick and he immediately went towards Takeshi's side with speed. Takeshi just looked at him with wide eyes.**_

_**And it happened.**_

_**Hayato was so clumsy that he didn't realize the folds of the mattress. His left foot was caught in it causing for him to stumble, and with that, he fell atop of Takeshi and accidentally kissed his cheek. Between them was, little Tsuna who was pressed under and laughing while hugging Hayato and snuggling Takeshi's chest. Takeshi, on the other hand, was embracing the two while supporting himself with one hand.**_

_**Then again, it happened.**_

_**Hayato fainted. Tsuna just continued laughing. Takeshi was just shocked.**_

_**~~END OF FLASHBACK~~**_

…**:[]:…**

Currently, Hayato was past seething and his cheeks were red from anger (most probably jealousy) as he observe Takeshi playing with little Tsuna at the slide, while he with his childish pride up, stayed in between the bushes parallel to the slide. The reason why he can't join in was the memory that continuously flashing in his mind that happened two days ago. However, the thing that made him really seethe in anger was the fact Takeshi seemed not bothered by it!

Damn, they're kids.

Oh well, his father said (before he died) that it's a tradition for Italians to kiss someone's cheek as a greeting, or even playfully for friends (may it be guys or girls). He understood that. But it's really irritating to do it to an enemy, worse, because of an unwanted circumstance, that memory happened. His blush increased another fold. He let himself be further hidden in the bushes in shame.

Because of the rustle, Takeshi managed to pick it up like a wild animal. He has sharp senses that can pass of any assassins in the world, but it needed training of course. In his case, he doesn't realize it yet and all he knew was it was a talent. He was able to catch Tsuna after he slid down and looked at the direction where the rustle originated. And there it was, he spotted Hayato.

Tsuna was looking at him with curiosity and kept himself to where he was. Takeshi took this as a sign that Tsuna will not leave anywhere (and insert goody thought: "Because Tsuna is so good.") With a smile, Takeshi poked Tsuna's nose playfully and said, "I'll be right back, okay?"

Tsuna just gaped.

…**:[]:..**

_Wheeeee~! The slide is so fun! This is the first time I actually got out of the house. Papa was so kind to build a playground for me and my two older bro bro, and again sorry for the cat call but I can't speak and understand things well yet. Oh well. It doesn't concern me yet. I just want to play around and know things more._

_It's just a good thing that this boy with black hair is here with me. He's so kind and really reliable, although he can be stupid sometimes. He always smiled and doted on me, like the kid with the silver hair. For his age, this black-haired kid was strong, not to mention he's quite taller than the silver-haired. I giggled. I just suddenly remembered how silver kid reacted when they first met. I also like him because he's so straightforward and he really took care of me. It's really good they're here, because if Papa and others were not around because of work, I got so lonely, then I'll cry._

_Right now, I was at the top of the slide. Don't get me wrong, there were two slides here. There's one that was taller than the black light post beside it. It was swirly and below it was a box filled with sand. And the other was this small slide, especially made for me. This slide has all the protection I need: from falling, from getting injured, or worse, rolling down. The only thing I need was a guardian to look out for me once I slid down. And I did. It was so fun!_

_The black-haired kid finally managed to hold me, making sure that I am all right. I was flailing my arms at him to carry me, but I noticed his attention was not directed to me. He was looking somewhere else. I tried to look too, but this boy held me in place. I stopped wiggling and looked at him with my big, brown, curious eyes. Then all of a sudden, he looked back at me with a smile, and then he said, "I'll be right back, okay?" Then he went off. _

_I was left at the edge of the slide, looking at the space before me._

_What should I do?_

_I looked down, and the ground looked so soft. And so, I reached for it. I fell down, but it didn't hurt so much because I landed on a soft white grainy soil. I felt like swimming in there because my whole body was covered in it. I stood on all fours, looking everywhere, and saw none of my nii-chan around. I suddenly got scared because I can't see any person to carry me back inside. I frantically looked everywhere, but it's already the air that met my face. I shivered. What's going to happen to me?_

_Suddenly, I heard a rustle._

_My curiosity kicked in that time and somehow I know I just needed to see that. So, I crawled my way there._

…**:[]:…**

Takeshi brushed away the bushes and squatted in front of Hayato. Hayato seemed not to notice due to his childish grumbling and his brainstorming to get his Juudaime back. But when he moved his knees, he realized he bumped into something and it even said, "Ouch!" With that, he looked up and saw Takeshi looking down at him with a pained expression.

He speedily backed away.

With a pointing finger, Hayato shouted at Takeshi, "W-what are you doing here? Why are you even staring at me?"

Takeshi straightened and replied with a pout, "I was worried, you know." Then he rubbed his foot to make the pain completely go away, "You did not come and play with us. What's wrong?"

"Che! It's not of your business, jerk!"

"It's my business too!" Takeshi exclaimed, his face really serious, "You're my friend! No, you're my best friend! Of course it's my business! You're sad, and I don't want that! We need to be good examples for Tsuna because sooner or later, he'll see us as big brothers!"

"Takeshi…"

"I know you don't like me, but I like you." Takeshi said with a smile, "You always do silly things. You cheer Tsuna up when he's crying. You're smart, reliable, and very good at things." Then he hung his head, "Unlike me, I don't have anything to be proud of…"

"Oi! Don't look down on yourself so easily!" Hayato exclaimed, "Tsuna is very happy when he's with you! He always laughs and do not easily get scared. You have a calm personality unlike me. Your words always reach him like ice cream!" Then Hayato's body shivered, feeling so embarrassed that he was telling everything he felt about this kid, "I…I always get jealous when Tsuna hugs you."

Takeshi blinked several times, processing what just happened, before bursting into a laugh. "HAHAHA! You're really silly, aren't you, Hayato? If you want to be with Tsuna as well, then you should be joining us!"

Hayato looked at him and blushed. Well, the kid has a point. But being stubborn doesn't make him leave it down. He quickly averted his eyes and made a 'hmph' sound, "Even so! You're my rival!" It is all he can say at the moment.

Takeshi just laughed. "Okay! Then let's go?"

Hayato just nodded. When the two of them trotted back to the playground, both of them were in shock.

Tsuna's gone!

…**:[]:…**

_Hmm…I wondered where I am. I think I am lost. My arms and legs were tired. And my head was hurting already. I wanted to cry. I wanted my papa. I wanted my brothers. But I can't see them. I was getting dirty too, and I was getting hungry. My throat was drying too. What should I do now?_

_I stopped crawling and unfortunately, my legs gave in and I slumped in a puddle of mud. It made me all brown and icky. My eyes watered. I was getting scared. What's going to happen to me now? I started to grumble and called out, _"PAPA!"_ It echoed, but no papa came. I sniffled. Where were they? Then, the rustle that I heard a while ago echoed again. My ears immediately caught the sound (thanks to its high sensitivity) and gathered my strength to crawl towards there. Even though I feel so tired already, I can't help but be attracted to that rustle. _

_Then I came to a stop._

_I was forced to sit on my butt because I was surprised when a white rabbit came out running from the bushes. I tried to grab it but it was so fast! Then, another came, and another, and another. I wondered how many rabbits were there and they were running frantically. Maybe that's the rustle I have been hearing since a while ago? When I am sure that there were no more rabbits to run, I crawled my way there between the bushes. It's so hard for a baby like me to find my way and my eyes kept on opening and closing because the leaves were hitting my eyes. My eyes were starting to form wells of tears again when both of my knees suddenly landed on something. And I practically tumbled down with such force and fell on something soft._

_It was a rabbit haven._

_Rabbits suddenly swarmed over me while others attacked me and chomped my head. I was so defenseless and so I cried as hard as I could so that I can attract attention. Rabbits of different sizes came and jumped on me, especially on my empty stomach. It hurt more! I cried louder. The rabbits only left after ten minutes, and I was left there with grime, leaves and scratches. I was crying hard that my lungs couldn't take it. Did everyone forget about me already? I was a good boy! Suddenly, I felt a soft paw touching my forehead. I looked and saw a big rabbit staring down at me. I blinked my eyes, and the rabbit remained still. Its paws were still onto my forehead, until its' nose nudged my head. I instinctively curled, fearing that the big rabbit might jumped on me. If that happened, I'll die! But it didn't. All it did was to nuzzle my head and stayed beside me._

_It was so fluffy! And I like those ears! I giggled a little. But still sad._

_Then, I heard another rustle. It came from the direction where the big rabbit probably came from. Then, I just heard someone said, _"There you are, White!" _and the person picked up the said rabbit. He noticed me of course and crouched down. There was something that told me that this guy was not harmful._

…**:[]:…**

A silver haired guy was running at full speed away from his pursuers. He's injured in the eyes, bruises in his arms, a straight cut on his chest (but not deep) and more bruises in the legs. His breathe was already coming short and his legs were about to give up on him. But, he can't stop now. He has to arrive at that place. He really just needed to do so. Taking a quick, sharp turn to the left, the kid bypassed two guards and hid himself at the biggest bushes found near the entrance. It's just a good thing he has great reflexes or lese he would end up being barricaded by the guards he passed earlier. He wanted to chuckle, but he can't do so because of fatigue. While waiting for the time, he decided to look around if he was already at the destination. Plus, he lost something so he followed it. He smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. Now, this was going to be so troublesome.

Then he heard a cry.

It was a cry not too far from where he sat. With the best of his abilities, he crawled his way towards the source of sorrow and his eyes went as big as saucers. It was his rabbit!

"There you are, White!" he exclaimed and picked the rabbit into his arms. But, as he picked the rabbit, he noticed a seemingly large lump of mud on the ground and wondered why the rabbit was poking it. And so, out of curiosity, he poked the mud with force.

And it wailed.

The kid immediately backed away due to his surprise. It was his first time seeing a crying mud! He quickly picked it up for him to examine it and to his another bout of surprise, it was heavy compared to a mud. He turned it around, and around, until the 'thing' before him, cried. He used his hand to swipe away the grime from those chubby cheeks and realized it was a baby. He gasped aloud, but realizing his situation quickly he ducked back down in the bushes. There, he used his shirt to gently but professionally clean away the dirt from the baby's face.

"How did you get so dirty?" He asked the baby, "And where are your parents?"

Of course, the baby wouldn't answer those questions, but there was one word that the boy heard that made him sad, "Papa!" The baby said while holding down his tears.

The kid gently embraced him, "Aww, I'm so sorry. You must be lost looking for your papa."

"Papaaa…"

"Don't worry. I'll look for them for you." The silver haired boy said, smiling sadly as he ran a hand on the baby's head. He doesn't know what it was, but all he knew was attracted to this baby in his arms. That simple action made the baby calm down a bit and the boy felt proud for what he has done. Looking sideways, he hoped that those silly kids were gone. He was running away from them in the first place because of defending the rabbit. Unknowingly, there were many of them and the silver haired kid was outnumbered. He tried his best to fight, but it was in vain. _'I really need to get stronger like my father,'_ the kid thought.

Convinced that they're gone, he made his way into the classy marble pathway into the humongous arch filled with rose vines. He was just six years old, but he knew already how to classify beautiful things. It's normal, right? He looked down at the baby and he smiled, seeing that the baby has somewhat calmed already and slowly drifting to sleep. The boy doesn't have any difficulty carrying him because he has a younger sibling before. Yes, before.

But, his sibling died. His mother died. And his father…

Shaking those thoughts away, he continued walking, until he heard a familiar voice along with two smaller, high pitched voices that were seemed to be crying. He assumed that they were being scolded and apparently, he was right.

"Why did you leave him?" The older of three asked calmly, but there was a tinge of anger and disappointment towards them.

The black haired guy has his head down and replied, tears flowing down to his cheeks, "I-It's my fault." Takeshi said, "I saw Hayato in the bushes and I thought something's wrong with him. I had baby Tsuna down already and told him to wait…but…"

"But, Takeshi, Tsuna doesn't still understand those words. And he should be thoroughly taken care of." The familiar black coat wearing guardian with a cross dangling down his chest said. Then he looked at Hayato, "And you, Mr. Hayato, why are you hiding in the bushes?"

"It's because…"Hayato started, but he can't go on due to so much crying. His shoulders were already trembling, "…I am…I am…jealous, uncle Knuckle." Then he looked up to Knuckle with pleading eyes, "BUT! I already said sorry to Takeshi!"

'_Uncle…Knuckle?'_ The silver haired kid hiding behind a tree repeated the name into his head. If he was not mistaken, his father's name was really Knuckle and he was a boxer that was very well known in their village. But, as he examined closer, he noticed the priest coat and the cross that made him so confused. Why would his father wear something like that? He wanted to watch further to observe, until his cover was blown when the baby started to cry once again.

This brought three heads look at the same direction. The silver haired kid has no choice but to show himself.

"U-uhm…excuse…me…" The silver haired said, "I found this baby near the entrance," Then he pointed the large, black Victorian gate being garden by two mist-flamed guards. "I am thinking that his father is around here somewhere." After that, he slowly looked up to Knuckle with seemingly like pleading eyes.

Knuckle was totally surprised of what he saw. This kid was someone he tried to forget when he entered priesthood. Everything. He gave up everything for the sake of his family's safety, which all turned in vain once he knew what happened to them. He knew all of them did not survive because no body was found in the crime scene. He thought everything was done. And after all the reckless fights he has engaged, he swore that he will not use his fists until needed. Everything. He tried to forget everything.

And everything was in vain when this kid showed up.

"Ryohei…" He muttered. His nightmare was starting to form right before his eyes. And he knew he cannot keep his secrets from this boy. His own son.

Without further ado, Ryohei handed the baby to Knuckle and hugged the sun guardian's leg, much to the surprise of the two boys who currently stopped crying and was left gaping at them.

Hayato and Takeshi looked at each other, confused and at the same time curious of what was going on. From all they know, Knuckle does not have any child. Hayato leaned towards Takeshi and asked in whisper, "Do all priests have children like us?"

Takeshi shrugged and replied, "I don't know. But since uncle Knuckle has one, maybe it's true."

Suddenly, two large hands landed atop of their heads, causing for them to look up. They immediately paled – it was Knuckle's hands, "And you do not gossip. We're not yet done here, okay? I'm going to tell Giotto, G and Asari about this."

"Yes…"

"As for you, Ryohei…" Knuckle then turn towards the child.

Ryohei just looked up to his father with delight. He was so happy that he was able to see him again, only to be broken by this words:

"Please go back to your aunt. You have nothing to do here."

Ryohei clutched into Knuckle's leg even tighter, his eyes pleading to accept him, "Dad! Why are you like that? Do you not love me?"

Knuckle didn't move a muscle but his face was overshadowed by his grief. He couldn't look into his son's eyes, and he couldn't simply take him as his son. That's because he's a priest. And according to the rules, priests cannot have an affair especially have a child. He gave Tsuna to Takeshi first before he kneeled down then detached Ryohei from his leg, giving him a small apologetic smile. "I am sorry, Ryohei. But you cannot come with me." Then he turned to Hayato and Takeshi, saying, "You two, we'll go inside now." Then as if no one was watching, he took Tsuna from Takeshi's arms and immediately turned his heel, lightly dragging the two kids away.

Ryohei was getting desperate. After so many days of planning and asking everyone in town where his father was, this was going to be the ending. All his life, he adored his father, his sense of justice, his love and care for him and his younger sibling, his devotion to his mother, everything. Then just now his father was drifting away from him. What was he going to do? He doesn't want his aunt – her family battered him, told him lies and everything. They even told him that he was not worthy of becoming his father's son because his father was much a better person now. What was this? Where this will lead him now? Will all his hard work be put in vain after sacrificing so much? He's already six, and having no family to live with, his sense of maturity heightened. He must protect his own right as his father's son – a priest's son.

And so with that, he gathered all his strength and ran towards Knuckle and the two sullen kids and shouted with fervor, "I don't want to go back to them because I want to stay with you!" Then looking sharply at Knuckle (though it has the most vivid colors of sadness in it), he whispered, "Even though you don't want me, I'll stay. I don't want to go back there. Let me stay here. I promise, I won't tell that I am your son."

But it's quite impossible because Takeshi and Hayato heard it. Knuckle was so surprised to hear those words from a six-year old. Ryohei was still a kid and kids should be showered with love, care and give them what will make them prosper. But his son talked like a matured guy, which made him thought what happened back with his cousin's family. He temporarily averted his gaze and looked down on Tsuna. He still remembered the times when he defended his stand on keeping the baby. And now, Tsuna has been living with nothing but happiness because the baby knew that he will be safe to them. Then he looked at Ryohei, saying, "Alright, I'll let you stay, but you will never address me as father, okay?" Earning a nod, he turned towards the two boys, "And you two will not say anything unless I say so, okay?" The boys nodded.

Somehow, it made Ryohei happy because he was going to stay with his father yet his sacrifices doubled because of the fact he won't be able to call his father, a _father_. He just wished everything will get back to normal soon.

Then his mood went 360.

…**:[]:…**

_I wonder what was going on, but I am sure I can feel great tension. I was so tired crying out my feelings but at the same time relieved and happy because someone picked me up. He was so warm like the sun. Then, I heard familiar voices, but the deeper voice was angry. I also heard crying kids. I wondered why. I don't know what was going on, but all I know was everyone was passing me to the other. I was getting scared. I'm getting dizzier. After series of talks, I was finally handed to the person who found me who has the same aura as the sun. I immediately felt that there was really something wrong, especially between him and the younger sun. I tried to reach out, but it seemed they were in the middle of a serious conversation and I cannot understand them._

_But why was the younger sun crying?_

_Later, I heard that they came with a solution, and the kid was shouting with determination. I think it did a lot of surprise to the older sun and when I heard him reply, it was a firm response, but I felt the grief between each letters produced, as if regretting something he shouldn't have. Then, silence came. I was left with nothing but sad stares and it affected me so much. Don't they notice that? I'm hungry, I'm dizzy, I'm dirty, everything, and my senses heightened because of these. There must be something I could do._

_Slowly, I wiggled my body from this older sun's arms much to his surprise. I flailed my hands and stretched it out towards the younger sun. I wanted him to hug me again. It was so, brotherly. So, was he my older brother? He was definitely not a father because he was much smaller and he doesn't have that strong and manly aura unlike papa. Papa was still much cooler than anyone else! I waited for 2 minutes, hoping the boy will reach for me, but it didn't come. My eyes became wet again (take note that I have been crying for the past few minutes and my eyes got so sore) and I was about to throw a tantrum when I saw quickly but gently handed by the older sun to the younger._

_I immediately latched my arms around his neck. I giggled because I got what I wanted._

…**:[]:…**

Ryohei was shocked. He never realized that one day someone would reach out to him, especially it was a baby. He knew it because he has a younger sibling and the moment his mother gave birth to his sibling, he knew for himself that he was already attached to it. Not to mention, they were not full-blooded brothers. He was always happy with children around since he's always the oldest. He treated younger ones with care, may they be or not his brothers and sisters. Just take for an example his classmates.

Probably because he was abandoned at an early age.

'

But right now, this baby in front of him was making wonders. The baby's smiles and giggles, despite his hunger and hurt, made everyone calm and happy. He has this natural charisma that attracted people and perhaps even the most dangerous people can be attracted to him and change their ways. Ryohei can't be any happier. He was further surprised when he felt the baby burying his face to the crook of his shoulders, and a hundredfold blush appeared. Everyone was shocked too, and Knuckle deduced that Tsuna was doing this to calm Ryohei down. He felt that having kids around the house would make it livelier. Though in his case, it must be kept secret.

"It seems Tsuna likes you too." Knuckle commented, giving the six year old a small smile. Deep inside him, he was proud of Ryohei.

"Tsuna…it's his name?" Ryohei asked innocently.

"Actually, it's Tsunayoshi. But since it's too long, we shortened it down to Tsuna."

"Ah. Such a pre-," He was cut off when Hayato butted in.

"Don't tell me you'll be a part of this family too?" Hayato asked aloud.

"Why? You don't want?" Ryohei asked back.

"GAH! Another suspicious person!"

"What did you say?" Ryohei's usual attitude showed. He won't let any person stepping to his manly pride. "I'm not sus…" He suddenly stopped and arranged his train of thoughts. Hayato and Takeshi wondered why in return, but it was Hayato who was grinning like hell. It also brought Knuckle to wonder. Then, with Ryohei's eyebrows creasing, he continued, "Sus…suspishen? What the hell are you even saying?"

Hayato's laughter echoed, "HAHAHAHA! IDIOT! For a six year old, your vocabulary is a rust."

"Tch! It's only because you're ahead!"

"No, you're just stupid!"

"Am not!"

"You are!"

"Am not!"

"You are!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

They were about to start a full blown fight when suddenly, Tsuna screamed. Takeshi immediately attended to the baby and saw him laughing instead. It brought Takeshi to laugh too, while the two boys were left gaping at each other.

Knuckle sighed. It would be really amusing to have kids inside because there would be some kind of diversion from work, but he predicted that it won't be as easy as pie. With these children, they might see devil incarnates once they grew up more.

* * *

**A/N: Oh my! It took me five days to finish this! I'm so sorry. I did have a battle of thoughts whether to write it this way or not. XD But what's important is that I managed to update.**

**By the way, about the quiz. Can anyone guess about that cat I mentioned in the second chapter? First to guess will have my next installment be dedicated to them. :) Don't forget to review!**


	4. Source of Happiness and Worry

**A/N: Oh my! Thank you guys for all the reviews! As an authoress, the readers' comments are considered as the most valuable prize received because from there, the author can evolve. :) So dramatic. :P Anyway, most of you didn't get the right answer. It's just simple. But I would still leave the quiz open. And hinting you guys, it's not found on KHR. :P By the way, I want to pardon myself for using excessive rabbit appearance. XD I assure you no rabbits are harmed. Hahaha.**

**Okay, on with the story. All disclaimers are enclosed in the first chapter. :)**

**Edited 5/5: OH GOODNESS! I'm so sorry for the delay! And it's freaking TWO WEEKS already! +_+ I was not at home because my brothers and I went to the province. I forgot to bring my own copy… :((( I'm so sorry! **

**Edited 5/6: To Chu-chan (apparently your penname doesn't want to be saved...:((()– thanks for the review! It's just sad you can't log in, and it happens to me sometimes. =_= Oh! I haven't reviewed to your story yet. I'll do that later. :D**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

**© Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**April 2012**

**FOURTH FLICKER: Source of Happiness and Worry**

Giotto sighed. He never thought that he would be this tired, not even when he was working on his paperwork. He realized that there were so much difference in doing the (damned) paperwork and being a father to Tsuna, especially now that he has to double his eyesight in order for his child not to wander around. Being a father at an early age of 22 was not a very easy task. Giotto must altogether put his responsibilities to himself, to his family, to his territory and now to his son without fail and biases. He was proud that he was a multi-tasking person, a man with words, and a caring boss. However, these all seemed to crumble down on him. For that, he sighed again.

Tsuna was nearing his third birthday, and the more the baby grew, the more he became adventurous. He has to feel sorry for Hayato and Takeshi for being grounded by Asari and G because of what happened to Tsuna because it was his fault that he didn't tell them that Tsuna tended to make adventures of his own. Nevertheless, his two guardians seemed not to budge and insisted grounding the two older boys, reasoning out that it was their responsibility to watch the little one. He sighed once again at that memory. It seemed that Asari and G were more protective than him. He suddenly remembered the time Tsuna had his first troublesome journey that almost led him to heart attack.

_**~~FLASHBACK~~**_

_**Tsuna was already one year old when Giotto discovered his son's personality. He found out that Tsuna could be really shy around people, especially when the baby felt not too comfortable around the stranger's grasp. It has always been a mystery to them why the baby did not feel danger around them, and the memory of Tsuna being in danger still made the Vongola boss suffer in thought. It's also a mystery to them that they were attracted to Tsuna, not just because he was cute and he was Giotto's splitting image, but there was something more unexplainable, something that kept him and the other guardians tied around at his little finger (even for Daemon, Lampo and Alaude, although only different in methods). It's was not Tsuna that was attracted to them, it was them who were attracted to the young one. Nevertheless, he was happy because Tsuna was more attached to him than the others. But it seemed that would change in the later years because G took in his little cousin, Hayato.**_

_**Another personality he found was Tsuna only cried whenever he's hungry, he's dirty and he's bored. Apart from all, he never complained and he just happily bounced around in the mattress that was laid out for him. He never cried whenever he was left behind, but he noticed they were gone for a long time, he would cry. There was even a time that Alaude was the only one in the house, particularly because Giotto was specifically sought by another family for a confidential conversation, the other guardians were in missions, and Lampo was away because he has classes on weekends. Since Alaude has nothing to do in his own office (away from Vongola of course), he was forced to stay in the mansion and BABYSIT. Pardon, but he was actually pissed about it. Tsuna was in Alaude's room, lying on his stomach on the cloud guardian's bed. Of course, it's natural for a baby to be curious so he watched Alaude's work intently. It seemed that the skylark noticed it and without a word, he left. It has been 30 minutes since Alaude left and Tsuna started crying already. Persistent on having Alaude back, he ventured going down on the floor by himself, and a thud resonated all over the house. With that, Alaude immediately went back and saw Tsuna lying on the floor on his back and crying so hard. He knew it was not in his style to panic (and good thing everyone was out) but he can't help it. Immediately, he picked Tsuna and cradled (even if he's unsure) the youngster in his arms. With a surprise, Tsuna immediately calmed down. Alaude's heart, in his opinion, fluttered a little.**_

_**But the most extreme personality that Giotto found was that Tsuna's adventurous curiosity. Well, he thought it's because he's still a child and it's natural for him to be curious. But Tsuna's curiosity was way beyond any child's curiosity. At a single rustle or movement, his attention will immediately be diverted. He can easily pick up sounds. And his determination to know was something so extreme. What led him to utmost shock was the fact Tsuna managed to circulate the whole house without getting noticed by the maids, butlers and the staff. It always has a mind-boggling thought for the Primo and almost impossible to happen. The knees of the babies were not still fully developed and so it have the tendencies of giving out once the baby felt tired already. But no, it was different in Tsuna's case. When he found Tsuna, the baby was playing with the birds in the garden, and much to his horror, the birds were even swarming over him. Some pecked Tsuna's head, and some flutter their wings on Tsuna. The baby, on the other hand, just kept on laughing and even trying to catch the bird. At that time, Tsuna got so dirty, with small cuts and bruises all over. But it didn't stay for long.**_

_**He just wondered how things will go once Tsuna grew more. He sighed.**_

_**~~END OF FLASHBACK~~**_

Right now, Tsuna was on his way towards the door. Giotto can't help but chuckle because he found it adorable. At a young age, his son showed extreme adventurousness and his curiosity level was increasing fast. He just really hoped that once Tsuna can walk by himself, he won't be this adventurous to get any injuries.

Tsuna, on the other hand, reached the door and held it with his two curious hands. His little mind was always wondering what lay ahead beyond this door (even though he has ventured out all by himself several times), especially going out of the room without the help of others. His eyes blinked as he slid his hands continuously on the smooth surface of the door and looked at his daddy who was staring at him in return. His head fell a little sideways, innocently thinking why his father was looking at him. Then, when he saw him smile, that made his feelings a lot lighter. He crawled back to his father's desk and stretched out his arm, making Giotto look at him at the other side of the table. Tsuna pouted. He can't reach his daddy. He was sitting in front of the desk and wiggled his arms up once more, but his daddy won't reach out for him. Then, he heard words:

"Come and get me, Tsuna," said Giotto in his lovingly tone of voice.

As if understanding it very well, Tsuna built his courage (with matching creasing eyebrows) and gathered his knees, slowly pushing up until he was able to stand on his own. Giotto's face was flushing in excitement at seeing his son learn on his own on how to stand. He can't fully explain the feeling, but all he knew was this was the feeling of every father watching their sons grow. He picked up Tsuna as a reward.

Just then, the door opened and G went inside with a deep frown on his face. It made Giotto worried along with his intuition telling him that something was wrong. Tsuna, on the other hand, was not bothered at all, but he was reaching for G to pick him up. Without hesitation, the storm guardian took him from Giotto's arms – who eagerly complied – and said,

"Don't worry about Tsuna, just go ahead and check things out at the lobby."

With all strengths gathered, Giotto left his office.

Tsuna tugged G's hair in curiosity, making G look at him and lightly pinch the bridge of Tsuna's nose as he smiled. No one would ever see him like this. Never. "Your daddy's going back soon." G said, "For the meantime, let's visit Hayato and Takeshi, hm?"

Tsuna just latched his arms around G's neck and nuzzled it, much to G's surprise. _The kid never ceased to surprise me…every day,_ he thought.

…**:[]:…**

"Oh my God…" Giotto muttered. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

On the ground were two kids – probably twins and of 7 years in age – both bloodied and wearing torn clothes. Both children have a slice on their right eye. It was indeed a gory sight. Giotto forced himself to kneel and check on the kids and was grateful to see them still breathing. But, what bothered him most was the fact Daemon was showing his most unguarded expression – worry and sadness.

"What's wrong, Daemon?" Giotto carefully asked.

Daemon fisted the floor, restraining his self from tremendous anger. He answered Giotto without even bothering looking up, "I picked these kids on the streets. I saw them being beaten by one of the gangsters which we have dismantled three months ago…"

Giotto gasped. That's too horrible. But, he knew there's something more beneath those raging eyes Daemon sported. He did not react instead let Daemon let out his angry feelings.

"They are so heartless. To think that they involve innocent women and children in this feud…" Then he faced Giotto with cold, deadly eyes, "Giotto! I told you that we should stop this charade of a mafia idea of yours! We should be feared! We should be the one leading them! We should be annihilating those who oppose us! Why can't you understand!"

"Daemon," Giotto calmly started. This was not the right time to get mad, especially that he wanted to get something out of Daemon's frustrated actions. "If we do what you say, won't we be any different to the other gangsters we have destroyed? We'll be involving women and children here, and it could be worse. We're already this famous. Isn't enough for you yet?"

"NO!" Daemon countered, unnoticing the slight twitching from the finger of the boy beneath him, "It's not enough! If we are feared, then no one will come against us!"

"How sure are you? Don't you think becoming like that will save us? Did you ever think you have your own nephews around to start with?"

"First of all, Giotto, they are not of any association to me! Especially that brat of yours Tsunayo-," He was abruptly stopped talking when Giotto punched him square in the face. His eyes went wide, not expecting that the usually calm Giotto who always wanted to resolve things through diplomacy will end throwing a powerful punch. Looks like he stepped into a landmine.

"_**First of all, Daemon**__,_" Giotto repeated with emphasis, his tone darker than usual, "Tsuna is not a brat. I want to make you remind that you saved him too. I know you're upset, but don't bring any of your childish behavior into this house and involving our kids here."

"Why, Giotto? Have you gotten soft? That Tsunayoshi brought you down further! Look at us now!"

"You're wrong. You're just clouded by your hatred because of some reason. Tsuna changed our lives. And so do the other kids."

"You know nothing, Giotto…"

"Try me."

Daemon saw that stubborn and determined look from his boss. It was the same eyes he saw and fell in love the first time he saw Giotto on the abandoned garden near his estate. It was the same eyes that made him follow Giotto, and hoped of becoming the strongest – including the Vongola famiglia itself – among others. But, this was the first time he saw such ferocity in those pools, making him drown in his own words and unconsciously abiding by Giotto's words.

It must have been his charisma and strong sense of leadership. Close enough.

"Give me time to think first, Giotto." Daemon looked away, his bangs covering every emotion his face was drawing. He was somehow thankful that Giotto's serious look at him made him feel assured. But, he needed time. "I…I just want to be alone with these kids first. I'll tell you when they're healed."

"Okay. I'll be waiting. Knuckle is in his room, by the way." Giotto was about to leave when he heard, even its faintest sound, droplets of tears splashing on the ground. He turned back and said, "I'm sorry too, Daemon." Then he left.

Hearing those words made Daemon's tears continuously flow towards the bodies of the twins. Even though he felt enraged from what happened, he can't help but to feel conflicted. It's not as if these two kids don't have any connection to him. And he was highly denying that fact. He was really denying it. All he did was to mention their names like a mantra, hoping that everything will be fine, and whatever he saw will be just a fragment of his nightmare.

"Mukuro…Chrome…" he muttered.

…**:[]:…**

G was bored. He should have not volunteered babysitting three children. On top of that, he was still disappointed at Hayato for being so stupid and letting his emotions overcrowd him because of jealousy towards Takeshi. But he has no other choice, and definitely he doesn't want to deal with Daemon in any particular matter. It would always end in the worst possible situations. And he has to admit, it's always Asari who would save him from those nasty illusions, thanks to the rain element. He looked down at the boys and it seemed Hayato was the only one who does not participate in the playing circle Takeshi and Tsuna has created. Well, he was in the circle, but he was doing nothing, and he kept looking at Tsuna with saddened eyes. _'What a kid,'_ he thought, _'It's too early for him to get all worked up for this. At least, he's repenting, hm?'_

He stood from his chair and went beside Hayato, who looked at him with the same eyes he projected at Tsuna. G was never good with encouraging words or loving words like Giotto, but at least he could try showing that he cared for Hayato. He placed his hand on top of Hayato's head, much to the kid's surprise. He was just rewarded with wide and confused eyes.

"What's wrong, big brother?" Hayato asked.

"I should be asking you that." G replied. He lightly ruffled Hayato's head in hope of telling him the problem; instead, he was just given a slow shake of head in disagreement. He sighed. "Why aren't you playing with them?"

Before Hayato could answer, Takeshi butt in. "I already told him to play with us, but he kept on giving me those scary eyes."

Hayato did not answer and further buried his chin to his knees.

"Is there something wrong?" G pried on.

"Well…" Hayato mumbled, "There…is nothing wrong…"

"Then, why are you not playing with them?"

"Because…I'm not allowed to play with little Tsuna…"

G blinked his eyes in confusion. Why would he be forbidden to play with Tsuna? The only thing that was not allowed was to take Tsuna outside the house for a while because of what happened, and them being grounded. But that doesn't mean that they were forbidden to play with the baby.

Then it hit him.

He remembered scolding Hayato when he found Knuckle carrying a dirty Tsuna and told him the story. And he apparently said that Hayato was not allowed to play to Tsuna. With that, G groaned. He was really a failure at this field. Sometimes he was wondering how Giotto managed with Tsuna, and it was a wonder that Tsuna was not throwing any baby tantrums. He sighed once again.

"Look, Hayato," G said calmly and rather (unlikely) in a loving way, "I am sorry that I said that, but I hope you understand that Tsuna is just two years old. And you are like an older brother to him." G explained, but he did not notice that Tsuna was already listening to them. It seemed that the baby was getting accustomed in hearing his name, therefore understanding that it was his name. Takeshi was listening as well too. "Of course, I would be angry. But it doesn't mean that you can't play with him."

As if on cue, Tsuna crawled towards Hayato and practically slump his body towards Hayato's lap, bringing the silver haired kid to surprise. In fact, the action surprised G as well. Tsuna was giggling and hugging Hayato by the waist, and it made the older to blush.

G snickered. It was too fun and cute to watch. "See what I mean? Tsuna wanted to play with you."

With that, Hayato smiled widely and hugged Tsuna, making the two-year old giggle like no tomorrow and bringing Takeshi in as well. G was satisfied. It looked like he has done something right this time. "So, I take it I can leave Tsuna with you?"

"Yes!" Hayato and Takeshi responded simultaneously. Breathing in his relief, G finally left.

…**:[]:…**

"They're two kids with an exceptional body build," Knuckle commented, "These kids will heal in no time."

Knuckle was explaining to Daemon the twin's condition for almost thirty minutes, but it seemed the mist guardian's mind was wandering somewhere else. He wondered himself the relationship between him and the children, regarding the emotions Daemon showed. Then, all of a sudden, Daemon looked back at him.

"Is there any orphanage near us?" the mist guardian asked. His eyes became blank from anger.

"Why?" Knuckle asked carefully, "You're going to give them to the orphanage?"

"I don't have anything to do with them, anyway." Daemon answered indirectly. In truth, he doesn't really want to involve himself with them, especially the boy. He can't afford seeing them every day. "I want them out as soon as possible."

"Why? You seem so afraid, Daemon."

"It's none of your business."

"But it is." Asari said, appearing just right in the doorway, his arms tucked inside his yukata. "I heard everything from G." At that remark, he heard Daemon hissed in annoyance, clearly not wanting anyone to know, but he dismissed it. "And I think, those kids have something in connection with you, right?"

"What do you want, Asari?" Daemon gritted, "Don't bother other people's lives, will you?"

"Even if I tell you I know their origins?"

Daemon was instantly in shock. How did Asari know? The look on Asari's face made him convinced that the rain guardian was not lying. "H-how…could you…?"

"The mother of these children was Miss Elena, right? I have met her a lot of times in the school that I have been investigating before. She has been telling me stories about you, but I never intended to tell you because I know you wouldn't like it. And she also told me that she was pregnant with your children."

"That's only a one night stand!" Daemon exclaimed, "She seduced me and left me after! Everything was just a one night stand!"

"You know the real truth behind those, Daemon." Asari smiled sadly. He perfectly knew that the Daemon was only concealing his love for Elena, because he doesn't want her to have a bad reputation at school and be the headlines of the news within his family. He came from an aristocratic family, for Pete's sakes. And although Elena came from a well-off family, it doesn't still remove the fact that he's a prince, and his parents would love to shove a princess' face into his ass than to let him choose whom he wanted to get married. But what, Asari doesn't understand the world of monarchs, because he himself only came from a middle-class family. He sighed, "Before I leave, Giotto said that the twins should remain in the estate until their safety is ensured. We still do not know who was trying to annihilate children and their reason for doing it. So please, keep your emotions at bay." Then he left.

Daemon was left with the unconscious twins and Knuckle, wearing a struggling expression that even he cannot determine. Okay. Fine. He was the father of these children. Elena told him. But it doesn't matter if she would go away without even telling right? And the next he found her, she was eloping with some random guy in the park. He shivered at that memory. How could the only girl he loved betray him? He's a prince! But, no matter what he does, he can't deny the fact that he still loved Elena.

It will not bring her back to life anymore.

She's gone, and she left him with two, beaten seven-year olds. How can he be a father to them? He doesn't know! And he has a mafia association to run, to make it powerful, to make it known! He could not just exchange that some girl who broke his heart from attaining his ultimate goal – making Vongola the strongest mafia famiglia in the world.

But still, he was conflicted.

He doesn't understand why he was feeling like this. Why? Why? Daemon could question it all and send everything to his illusionary space.

Knuckle just watched, occasionally glancing at the twins then back at the mist guardian. This was actually the first time that he saw Daemon so troubled. On top of that, he could be rivaled with Alaude for being antisocial in the famiglia (though, lesser). Even though Daemon does not show his tears, he knew the heaviness of his eyelids wouldn't last.

He knew because he, himself, has his own heavy eyelids to protect. Above all, it was more of a secret than in Daemon's case.

At least, Daemon was a prince, not a priest.

Slowly, he placed his hand on Daemon's sagged shoulder, effectively bringing the other to look at the sun priest with both expressions of pleading for help and the anger saying 'mind your own business'. But, he didn't say anything. At that touch, he felt his eyelids were going to give in to the weakness, but he can't afford to do that right now. He needed to be strong for himself. To accept what was done; to get away from all these nonsense. Especially to keep himself away from these children.

"Knuckle," Daemon started, pushing away the hand lightly. Knuckle, on the other hand, seemed not bothered by it and just listened, "I don't know what Giotto's plan is; he might have known about this too, anyway. But, I'm going to ask you a first and last favor."

Knuckle was taken aback, "What is it?" he asked, keeping his composure intact.

"I want you to not utter a single word about me being their father. I don't want to do anything with them."

"But why? You're not sure that these kids doesn't know you're their father."

"Deny it! Tell them lies! I don't know!" Daemon said frustratingly. He knew that, of course. Elena would have told the kids about him, especially the times they've shared (if there's any). "Just…just please don't let them near me, or I don't know what I'll do." Then he hastily left the infirmary.

Knuckle wasn't able to respond and looked at the peaceful faces of the twins. He felt bad about them, but he can't break a promise too. But he's a priest and he should promote a happy family lifestyle. Knuckle groaned. It was his turn to be frustrated.

In the first place, why did he ever become a father himself?

…**:[]:…**

Giotto was on the brink of shoving himself into his desk at the same time cocooning his self in the curtain. The wind was strong enough to penetrate at the windows ajar behind him, making the silky curtain flow towards him and lightly disturb the order of the papers he did last night. But, it was not the issue. It was that G and Asari was sitting in front of him with a grim facial expression as they listened to Alaude who just got home and reported about the incident. Trust the cloud guardian to easily investigate and report on details. After that, Giotto buried his cheek on his right palm and closed his eyes, calming himself from the pending headache that was about to rush in. And it seemed not to work.

"So, you're telling me that Daemon and this Elena had an affair." Giotto stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Alaude replied, "They had a two year secret relationship basically Daemon wanted to get away from the arranged marriages his family was setting for him. And one day, they eloped. From what I have gathered, it seemed that Elena left Daemon without a word of being pregnant because she was threatened by his family."

"Does Daemon know about this?"

"I'm afraid not."

Giotto further indulged himself in thoughts. If Daemon doesn't know anything about his family's wrongdoings, and he has the notion of Elena leaving him for some man, then it was a complete misunderstanding. Worse, the life and emotional stability of the twins were at stake, and he can't simply allow that. At the same time, it's impossible for him to persuade Daemon to accept them readily. It was a complicated situation between an aristocratic family and a middle class. Sure, he understood, but the Primo will never comprehend the drawn line between the two classes. Basically, he was an orphan and he lived with G's family to survive.

"Honestly, I don't know this will turn." Giotto confessed, "As much as I want to tell Daemon about it, I want him to realize himself the misunderstanding."

"So, we're going to keep this information to ourselves?" G asked.

"It's the best thing for now. I know he may get mad in the future, but if he doesn't realize everything by himself, then he would not be able to see the importance of his children."

With that, Alaude exited the office without a word. Asari and G remained silent as they watched Giotto turn his chair, facing the window. The cool wind touched their faces, but it also brought them the cold thought of the future this mansion held. There were a lot of mysteries, and Tsuna was not an exception to it.

…**:[]:…**

Three high-pitched laughs echoed in the play room that made Ryohei stop sweeping the floor. Ever since he entered the mansion, he was introduced by his father as a young charge from his cousin. In short, nephew. As much as it hurt him as a child, he has to accept that his father doesn't want that. Ryohei was a good kid and he'll do anything for his family to make them happy. If calling Knuckle 'uncle' will suffice, then he will undoubtedly do it whole-heartedly. After all, he's the only family he has.

He peeked into the room and saw the three younger boys playing happily: Takeshi was holding a robot attacking Hayato's and Tsuna messing up the story, making the two older boys to laugh and tackle Tsuna further to the ground. It was a good thing that the floor was covered with soft carpet, perfect for boys like them. Then, surprise hit him when he saw Tsuna stand on his own, making Takeshi and Hayato gasp in delight as well; and the moment Tsuna attempted to walk by himself, Takeshi and Hayato immediately positioned themselves on both ends, coaxing Tsuna to come towards them. At first, it was Takeshi, stretching out his arms, making Tsuna more encouraged to walk towards him. As soon as Tsuna was near, the baby tripped and fell to the ground. Takeshi became worried and started crawling towards the fallen baby. But, Tsuna regained his posture, and walked once again, finally landing on top of Takeshi's bent body. The older one laughed and has no choice but to twist his body so that he could lie on his back, then hugged Tsuna. The baby giggled.

Soon, the routine continued and Tsuna walked towards Hayato. The kid seemed to be anticipating this, and was very proud that he was able to see Tsuna walk on his own. He was going to boast this later on to his cousin. As soon as Tsuna neared, Hayato's eyes sparkled. "Come on, baby Tsuna…" He muttered with a smile, and with that, Tsuna launched himself towards Hayato. Good thing the distance was a feet away only. The silver-haired kid immediately caught Tsuna and hugged him like Takeshi did. Takeshi walked over to them and hugged them both, chuckling.

Then, he realized someone was at the door.

His head snapped sideways, finding Ryohei flinching at the door frame with a broom on his hand. Takeshi raised an eyebrow, not understanding why a kid should carry a broom. Shouldn't kids be playing? He tapped Hayato's shoulder twice and pointed to Ryohei's direction. To Hayato's dismay, he creased his eyebrows and pouted. He really never liked Ryohei in the first place because he has this cheeky attitude. Well, they both the same with that cheeky attitude. Hayato only disagreed. But the moment he saw that sad face, he immediately spoke,

"Oi! What are you standing there for?" Hayato grumpily called out. "The room is not for sightseeing, jerk. Come inside!"

Takeshi lightly swatted Hayato's arm. "Hayato-san! Don't say bad words in front of Tsuna!" Then looked at Ryohei and smiled at him, "Come on it, this playground is built for Tsuna, but we use it too because there are lots of toys! We're also looking after Tsuna because big brother G said so."

Ryohei blushed. He never expected to be accepted this much. After all his mother and sister died, and there was no one who would watch after him. He has few relatives, but they sent him here in Italy to a distant relative and ended up being a houseboy. But here, everything's different, and thanks to the baby, he was able to find himself again, even though there was still a missing piece that was left to be fitted. Without further ado, he dropped the broom and joined the fun. Ryohei patted Tsuna's head for such a job well done in walking, much to Tsuna's delight. He turned his attention to him and gave Ryohei a squeeze, making the older boy giggle. And that's how their friendship started.

…**:[]:…**

Daemon stared at the two children in front of him. They were all bandaged: from head, down to their chests, to their arms, limbs and their ankles. He deduced that the kids put up a fight, but the brother took the blow rather than the sister, basically to protect her from the people who want to get them. He reached out a hand, but quickly withdrew them for the thought of not wanting to get connected with them. This was the first time he felt like this. In some street wordings, he felt like shit. Just really fucking shit. He doesn't understand these feelings at all. He can't comprehend why these were happening to him. All he wanted was a life filled with prestige with his own doing, and his stepping stone was the Vongola.

He shook his head. This was not the time for excuses.

He abruptly stood from the chair and left, when he felt a hand grasping his wrist, making him turn indignantly.

He saw Mukuro's unbandaged eye.

"F-f…father…?" Mukuro whispered.

Daemon shivered and yanked his hand away harshly. How…how could this child bring the courage to call him father? They were nothing but products of stupidity. He was even hesitating if they were his children. Mukuro saw that rejection, but due to his condition, he can't fully express his feelings.

"Father…" He called out again, a little bit determined.

"I'm not your father…" Daemon replied between his gritted teeth.

"But…mama…said…y-you…" The poor boy was not able to finish his sentence simply because he saw the rage in his father's eyes.

"**YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME FATHER, DO YOU HEAR?**" Then he hastily made his way out.

Mukuro's eyes produced tears after he saw his father left. His mother was wrong. His father will not accept them. How were they going to live? He can't risk the life of his little sister anymore. He suddenly began to panic, but he can't bring himself to sit because of the bandages and the bruises he received from the fight. But, he felt another hand as he scrambled around, and immediately felt relaxed.

"Chrome…was…here…" he muttered, and finally closed his eyes.

…**:[]:…**

Takeshi, Hayato and Ryohei were lying on their backs in a circular motion, their heads pressing against each other as they rested from too much playing. It was really fun playing with all the kids, and they wanted it to happen every day. Thanks to Tsuna, they were bonded like real brothers. They felt (but never said out loud) that there was something different within Tsuna. But that difference was good. It was calming. It was friendly. And the more they interact with Tsuna, the more they get attached to him. As if they were forming a group of their own and they will be the ones to protect Tsuna. They all chuckled, seemingly having the same thoughts.

Right now, Tsuna was resting on top of Ryohei's body, his face snuggling the boy's chest. Ryohei can't keep his blush down because of that too much adorableness Tsuna emitted. Takeshi has fallen asleep too, but Hayato kept on looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Ryohei asked.

"Nothing," Hayato said, putting both of his arms behind his head and stared on the ceiling, "I was just wondering how you found your father here."

Immediately, Ryohei straightened. So Hayato hasn't forgotten yet. "Well, I have asked people around. And they told me he's here." Then he laughed sheepishly, "But, he's not my father anymore, so it's okay."

"Idiot," Hayato said and bonked Ryohei's head with his right fist, "You don't have to keep it to yourself you know. My mom is a total bonkers too, Takeshi's dad as well. We all have problems like that, but," Hayato turned to look sharply at Ryohei, "But, uncle Knuckle isn't like that. Maybe he has a good reason for it."

Ryohei immediately relaxed, feeling relieved after hearing what Hayato said. That might be very possible, and waiting was not a bad thing at all. He chuckled. "I guess you're right. Thanks."

"Heh. Took you long enough to notice. Idiot."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Ryohei shouted childishly.

"Nah-uh," Hayato snickered, "You have baby Tsuna there on you. If you move, he'll cry, and I'll tell big brother G and uncle Giotto."

Ryohei wasn't able to do anything but to grumble.

Just then, Daemon arrived inside the playground after hearing that loud shout from Ryohei. Hayato was quick to notice and immediately sat, looking at the mist guardian with that childish glare. Daemon just chuckled. It amused him whenever Hayato does that. So much like his cousin G. He made a quick scan over the room and apparently saw Tsuna sleeping on top of Ryohei. Without telling anything, he quietly picked Tsuna and said,

"I'm going to take him for a while," Then he pointed towards Takeshi, "Wake Takeshi up and take a bath. You three stink."

"DID NOT!" Hayato and Ryohei said at the same time, then they were at their necks again. Daemon just shook his head.

"You brats are a bunch of idiots. Just tell me when you decided to kill each other and I'll lend you both a knife." Then he retreated.

"BLEH!" gestured the two.

Daemon walked down the hall towards his room. He wanted to find out what was so special about this child Tsuna. He has to admit that this tyke attracted almost every single living thing in this house, even perhaps the tiniest of the microorganisms living inside. In an instant, the child was able to change something in Giotto, but he could not pinpoint it. He has to see it for himself.

Just then, he didn't realize that something will definitely surprise him.

* * *

**A/N: =_= Whew, thanks to the heavens I was able (and finally) to finish this story. I'm sorry if it took me a while to update because I had lots of things in mind. By the way, if you're thinking this story is somewhat OOC, then think again. They are a bunch of kids running around with undeveloped mind and emotion. So it's okay to play around it, right? I know the Primo famiglia is a bit OC, but that doesn't change that there are other emotions filling up them inside, no? :D Well then, tell me your thoughts and give me a good constructive criticism. Tell me if you like something or not, okay? :D Ciao!**


	5. Acceptance

**A/N: Okay people, I know I have been doing bad lately and the main reason for that is I have a job right now and I can't monitor my stories that well. And I am supposed to submit this last May 27! Plus, I had a major conflict with my ideas on chapter 5 so I have to revise them so many times. Oh well, more messages later. Thanks for waiting. By the way, more messages after the story. Thanks.  
**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

**© Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**April 2012**

* * *

**FIFTH FLICKER: Acceptance**

"Is it…really okay to leave them alone?" G asked slowly, worry evident in his voice.

Giotto did not respond, let alone even face G and the other guardians. His hands were shaking out of anxiety, paranoid that something might happen to the kids, especially to Tsuna. His intuition told him that a horrible event will take place upon his absence and it frustrated him because he and his guardians will be away for two days all together for the first time. He and his guardians were all needed to attend a meeting with the Suono Famiglia, one of the strongest families in Italy and perhaps in the world. They have no any other choice but all to attend. He sighed.

He was actually inches away from his family while they were waiting for the early train. He felt sorry for Tsuna because the tyke won't be seeing his father and uncles for roughly two days. The meeting will happen in those days, as agreed, and it won't be a good idea if he left for too long. Even though he has complete trust in his oldest butler, Mr. Francesco, he can't bear the thought that the children will be left alone, much worse, they're kids. They can cause ruckus. And ruckus was equivalent to headache. To shorten things up, Mr. Francesco has a quick temper and he can send the kids to the moon with his mist flame. But still, he put everything into God that the kids were going to behave. They were carrying the name of the Vongola and Hayato, Takeshi, and Ryohei were having basic lessons of how to be proper. He just silently prayed that nothing will happen and when they come back, everything was still in one piece.

G can't help but silently curse behind Giotto's back. He knew too well how Giotto could be a worrywart when it came to Tsuna, especially now that they were on this troublesome two-day meeting. Somehow, he can't deny that he was feeling suspicious of this wherein, normally, an alliance meeting only consisted of famiglia representatives and the head of the famiglia who was the host. It was very unusual for some family to ask for the presence of the entire family. He looked around. The train has still not arrived. And they have been waiting for almost twenty minutes already. He discreetly sent a glare at Alaude's back, clearly blaming him for the misinformation of the arrival of the train. He grunted. As for Alaude, he knew perfectly well the schedule of the train's arrival (he's the one who booked them anyway), and knowing that there were slowpokes in the house, he decided to use a little scheme to lure them out. And here they were.

All of a sudden, G felt something poking him, ahem, someone was poking him. It was Asari with his eyebrows creased.

"Aren't we supposed to be 7 today?" Asari asked.

G gave a hard look, "Why are you counting? **WE'RE **7, alright?" He was a bit confused of why Asari would ask that. All of them left the house altogether.

Except…

G took a quick scan at everyone. Okay, there's Giotto, himself, Asari, Knuckle, Alaude, Lampo, and…G's eyebrow twitched heavily and mumbled all curses he can say in five different languages. Why does Daemon have to choose this day to be perfectly absent?

"GIOTTO!" G exclaimed and practically (and unguardedly) spun Giotto around so the Primo could face him dumbfoundedly, "Why is Daemon not around?"

Giotto sighed. Finally, someone noticed. "You weren't listening yesterday, hm, G?" Then he received a glare from G, "Fine. Daemon was requested by someone to take a mission. He'll be returning this evening and I doubt that he'll be able to catch up with us."

"Then why didn't you fucking tell us?" G exclaimed some more, bringing the attention of the other passengers waiting for the early train.

"I told you, G, you're not listening." Then Giotto motioned to look for the other four guardians who were looking calm despite G's outrage.

G seethed. He was in the same room yesterday when Giotto called them for the meeting. But what he can't understand was how on earth he was unable to gather that such piece of information? So what now? They're missing a guardian, and the requirement was for all of them to attend that damned meeting. PLUS! If Daemon would return home tonight, then, he'll be the one left for the kids!

Please, don't exempt his double – Mukuro. No one knew what the brat can do…yet.

G (kinda) feared for the life of the kids.

Soon enough, the train arrived at the station. Hordes of people rushed inside the coach and it's only a proof that whenever riding a coach, there were no superior and inferior. If one cannot aboard the train, then it's too bad. Better luck next time, then. Amidst the crowd, Giotto just silently prayed that everything will be all right.

…**:[]:…**

Daemon was beyond pissed. For one thing, he hated stupid missions, and apparently he landed on one. There was this one family in the nearby village that asked for their help in exchange of three sacks of rice. Well, that could be very useful since they don't have to buy rice anymore for the next couple of months. He agreed of course. The stupid thing was that the child was tangled in a bush with lots of snakes in it. Correction, toy snakes. Later, he found out that the child was only playing pranks on his parents and witnessed their scolding. In the end, he was given the original reward, with the additional sacks of wheat and vegetables, and five boxes of milk. He had to carry all of those by himself since HE volunteered TO DO the mission ALONE. The parents even apologized for the inconvenience.

And here he was, back at the mansion, releasing his genjutsu and put the gifts in front of the door. With a long frown, he knocked at the door.

Mr. Francesco opened the door, with creased eyebrows (almost forming a line) that mirrored Daemon's. The mist guardian had to match it up with an annoyed, questioning raised eyebrow, simply not taking the fact that the butler creased his eyebrows at him.

If he only knew…

"Why are you looking like that, old man?" Daemon asked. Trust him to be this disrespectful when pissed.

Mr. Francesco's eye twitched. "You never want to know, _young master_." The stress on the title made Daemon's curiosity and blood spike. He wondered what happened.

Daemon made no further comment and just gave his coat to Mr. Francesco who in turn put the coat on the rack. The mist guardian proceeded inside with the same creased eyebrows and looked around. There seemed no ruckus, so why the head butler got his briefs into a knot? Just then, he heard a loud explosion.

A patch of silver was seen in the hallway and Mr. Francesco appeared next to him.

"I believe young master should listen to whatever I have said earlier." The butler calmly said but his tone of voice was coated with irritation and in any moment, he could jump and kill. Daemon simply ignored the butler and continued watching the silver monster.

Then a loud exclamation was heard altogether with another round of explosion.

"Hayato!" Takeshi called out as he rushed towards his friend. For some reason, upon his little tour inside the mansion, he had always the impression that the room near his G-niisan's room was too eerie and his older brother Asari told him to never get near that room if he valued his life. Good thing, he listened.

Not for Hayato, though.

He should have told Hayato earlier.

He sighed.

Hayato, on the other hand, was so amused with his new found toy – an abominable thing called dynamite. For a 4-year old kid like him, it's quite a surprise that he knew about these explosives. And really dangerous. But, coming from a mafia family was no news. Every child who can already speak and understand could learn dangerous things at an early age, and Hayato being a natural born genius in the family was very exceptional.

And bombs became his ultimate interest.

Anyway, it's not really his fault if he found those dynamites. He was instructed by G to get his scarf just before the whole family went out for the meeting. When the lad was in the room, he noticed another door inside ajar. Inquisitive, he took a small peek inside and his eyes widen in delight. He hurried in delivering the scarf to his cousin and back at the room once he made sure that everyone left. He rummaged through that slightly opened door and voila! He found a stock of dynamites inside.

My, my, dynamites shouldn't be a toy for a four-year old. But what? He's a child of mafia world.

And everything followed.

So now, Takeshi was trying his very best in preventing Hayato from "trying" out all the dynamites he saw from the box, telling the silver haired to return all the explosives because G will know if they were taken. Smart, but not close. Hayato just ignored and continued lighting those things and dropping it to the ground, creating a very nice music in his ears. Problem was, it left a trail of holes into the mansion's floor, and definitely it wouldn't be desirable once the family went back. He was determined to catch Hayato and scold him for doing this, until he found four pairs of eyes looking dangerously at them.

It made him put to a stop.

He looked at them then to Hayato's moving body and shouted, "HAYATO! Please, stop!"

This time Hayato answered cheekily, "Why should I? They're all gone! And these things are waaaay too cool!" Then he lit another dynamite and threw it across the hallway. "Oh yeah!" Hayato happily exclaimed.

Takeshi ran towards Hayato as he looked at the menacing glares of Mr. Francesco and Daemon. "Hayato, please. We've got to stop or else Giotto-nii will scold us when they get back. Plus…" then he slowed his run to stop.

This made the silverette slowed his pace as well. He looked at Takeshi at a distance and said, "What's your problem? They left! We have the place! And it's not our fault if my cousin left his door open."

Takeshi looked at him with determined but sad eyes. "It's because we're already in trouble."

When Hayato turned around, he saw Daemon's scary eyes once again, followed by an irate Mr. Francesco and was already holding a frightened Takeshi.

"Oh no…"

…**:[]:…**

"I'm glad you made it safe, Primo." Said the messenger of the head of the Suono famiglia as he spotted the Vongola walking towards the entrance.

Giotto smiled and offered a nod of appreciation, "Thank you very much. Now, where is your don?"

"He's actually waiting for you at his study." The messenger motioned a hand for them to enter as the door opened, "This way please."

With an inward sigh, Giotto and company went inside. He was just hoping that things would be alright…

…**:[]:…**

…Or not.

Hayato was still out cold in the couch while Takeshi was struggling with the rope that was binded into him by Mr. Francesco. Surely, the elderly has no mercy for pesky little children that tried to destroy his perfectly peaceful day. On Hayato's case, Daemon practically used his illusion to knock the kid out and ordered the poor irate butler to watch for the kids while he check the damage that was planted within the hallways of the estate.

And Daemon didn't find it nice.

The whole of second floor hallway was filled with large holes. It's a good thing that the dynamites that Hayato saw were not that strong enough to blow the entire floor. Valuable vases and paintings were also damaged. Even though the mist guardian was not fond of vases and paintings, he knew how valuable these things were. His eyebrows were twitching, thinking of Giotto's reaction once he saw this, and it wouldn't be just a day that he'll be hearing Giotto's voice filling the air saying different orders of repair and replacement.

Oh no. He's definitely not making that happen. Not in this life time.

He jumped a floor down and went to the phone, dialed a number and shortly, there were 15-20 men that went inside the estate. As soon as they saw Daemon, they straightened to a two column file and waited for his orders.

"I want everything in second floor perfectly fixed and furnished in two days. If not, I'm going to make sure all of you will see hell." Daemon said irritably.

In fear, all of his subjects nodded and echoed a "yes" to the aristocrat.

This was going to be a long day.

…**:[]:…**

Tsuna was sitting on his crib, staring wildly at the door that was ajar. He was awakened by the last explosion made by Hayato earlier and was now extremely curious of what was going on. His eyes kept on being glued to the door, until it tired him out and finally decided to tear his gaze away and looked at his crib bars instead. The little one was actually thinking how he would be able to climb down, not when he just learned walking a few days ago. He stood as he held onto the bars and made a noise, wanting to be heard.

And it was answered.

Ryohei was just finished from his so-called "training" and walked towards his room, when he heard baby Tsuna making a loud noise, thanks to the slightly opened door. Doing his job as the eldest among the kids in the house, he went in and attended to Tsuna's side. He smiled when he saw that bright smile coming from the tyke, washing away all of the fatigue that he felt from his exercise and so, he grabbed him by the armpits and set him down the floor.

"What's wrong, Tsuna?" Ryohei asked.

"Baa, baa, boo~" Tsuna responded, however sending a confused thought towards Ryohei. The only thing the silver-haired understood was the fact Tsuna was pointing towards the door.

"Oh! You want to get out?"

"Paa, Daa, Daa!"

Ryohei chuckled. Tsuna was just so adorable to look at. And so, he held onto the child and knowing that Tsuna can walk by himself already, he carefully led the baby out of the room. They walked together towards Ryohei's bedroom to get changed, and later, headed downstairs. Ryohei decided to carry Tsuna as they go down, but a walking stranger inside their house made him alarmed.

'Who are you?" He asked aloud, startling the poor worker down to his butt.

"We're not thieves! We're decent!" The worker exclaimed. Beneath him were different tiles and a bucket of cement that was spilled on the floor. Before Ryohei could even ask again, he heard a familiar exclamation from the stairs.

"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO STAY THERE? WORK, WORK, WORK!"

"Uncle Daemon?" Ryohei called.

"HM!" Daemon jerked his head towards the caller and replied, "Oh. Knuckle's brat. What are you doing here, ah?"

Ryohei frowned a little, annoyed that this man, a colleague of his father's, would call him a brat. Nevertheless, he let it slide this time, "I took Tsuna out because he wanted to. What happened here?"

The sudden change of topic made Daemon's blood boil a degree higher, "Tch. You're fellow brat blasted of the hallway. I hope you do know what will happen next."

Ryohei didn't respond but nodded. He'd rather stay away from Daemon's wrath.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of things to do." With that, Daemon left.

Ryohei stared at the Daemon's retreating back. Looks like two days without their elders would be a heck of a hell. He even wondered why Daemon was at home. Oh well, he should just look for the missing kids namely Takeshi and Hayato.

Tsuna was just staring at Ryohei's face the entire time.

…**:[]:…**

"Are you sure about this, Kier?" The Suono famiglia's storm guardian, Theodore, asked. His hands were tightly clenched on his pants as their meeting with the Vongola went on.

Kieren Franciel von Suono, the boss of Suono famiglia, nodded grimly. He was just a year or two older than Giotto, but his features held responsibility, pride and dignity that was loved and respected by his subordinates. "Yes, I am afraid. I saw that from Leander's report yesterday. That's why I called on Vongola to make an alliance with them since they are the only ones I know who can be allied with us regarding this issue."

"I have no problems with the alliance, Mr. Kier." Giotto calmly said, "But what I can't understand is our possible involvement with this case of yours. As far as my intelligence group is concerned, your family is really dependable, resourceful and powerful. I can't see why you need our help."

"This is not only a problem of one famiglia, Primo." Kieren said, controlling his emotions as tight as possible. "This will be a problem to each and every famiglia present within Italy. Probably even in neighboring countries. As I told you, there are babies, much less women who hasn't underwent labor, were kidnapped and experimented by Esquilo Famiglia. Worse, they are being assisted by the Estraneo Famiglia This has been spread all throughout Italy already and has been reaching France and England."

"So, what do you want us to do?" G asked who was getting impatient at the moment.

"Like I said, help us defeat them. It's for the safety of all the children and the mothers out there. If we aren't able to defeat them, kids around your territory might be the next."

All could Giotto do was to hum in thoughts.

…**:[]:…**

"Stupid!"

"Jerk!"

"Turf-top!"

"Octopus Head!"

Hayato scrunched his eyebrows in disgust. How the hell his head did become an octopus? Ryohei was sure a stupid one. Takeshi, on the other hand, was chuckling at the crazy antics of the two while holding onto Tsuna who was giggling as well. It seemed that the little sky was entertained seeing his older brothers being crazy at each other. And it only meant that there was this bond between them. By the way, his bonds were taken off by Ryohei.

But the fun was cut short.

Mr. Francesco came into the living room with a very undesirable face.

"Master Takeshi and Master Hayato, what are you cheering for? And why can I see bonds cut off?"

Takeshi and Hayato squirmed in their own places, avoiding those scary glares coming from the head butler. They can't speak outright because they knew that they have done something so bad. They just found themselves surprised that Ryohei was standing in front of them and replied,

"I undid everything. Why?" He asked innocently. Oh well, the silverette doesn't know what happened anyway, so he's off the list.

Nevertheless, Mr. Francesco was not very considerate of it, "You undid the rope, Master Ryohei?" Ryohei eagerly nodded. "Do you know what these two did?" Ryohei shook his head. Mr. Francesco sighed. Seriously, this kid could be a blockhead at times. "Master Ryohei, your little mischievous friends here just made holes on the second floor hallways." _'Oh, so that's why…'_ Ryohei trailed a thought, although he can't still see why they need to be tied. "It was their punishment to be like in the state you saw them with."

"But…it's hurtful, right?"

"Yes, indeed. But what they did is more hurtful. It's hurtful on cash."

"Ha?" Ryohei can't understand. Mr. Francesco was actually talking about financing the damages! Oh well, who can blame him? He's a kid, for pete's sakes.

Mr. Francesco really wanted to smack the child now. He was getting impatient. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Master Ryohei, I'm going to put your friends back to their punishment."

"Well, isn't enough that they had it?" Ryohei inquired innocently. "It's not as if they knew the effects of those." Well, he's right anyway. It's not Takeshi and Hayato's entire fault. Kids can be so curious at their age, and anything left without supervision will be the object of their desire. Tch, Ryohei seemed to be in his 'older brother' mode.

As for Mr. Francesco, he's growing a tick already. The boy needed to get away if he wanted to see the lights shining tomorrow, "I believe you do understand, **Master Ryohei**, that destroying property is not very **extremely** **manly **like, is it?"

"Of course not! Destroying property is bad, duh?" Ryohei replied.

"And so, your little friends here did a very bad thing. They destroyed family property."

"Did you ask them why they did it?"

Silence.

Takeshi and Hayato were finding hope in the materialized form of Ryohei, and they couldn't find any more happiness (though Hayato was still denying it) that it was fun to have an older brother. Ryohei may not realize it, but he's actually saving their butts! Oh joy!

Mr. Francesco, on the other hand, can feel his tick going to explode already. Seriously, kids were so handful to manage, life threatening and source of waste of time. He even managed to survive looking out for the 7 official members of the Vongola. If it wasn't for Giotto, he would have long resigned. Seeing the determined face of Ryohei, the pleading eyes of the culprits and especially to what he thought a childish glare (albeit stronger and sharper than Giotto's) from Tsuna, he gave a resigned sigh and turned away. But even before he could walk far, he heard Tsuna giggle and saw an agreeing thumbs-up. Oh well, it's impossible that the child could know what that meant. He walked away.

"That's so amazing, Ryohei!" Takeshi praised the silver haired. Hayato was in tow, with his usual grumpy look and cross-armed stance, but was grateful that the turf-top was there.

"Hn, you're just lucky." Said Hayato.

"Ahaha, now, now, Hayato. Be kind to Ryohei." Takeshi lightly reprimanded.

Ryohei blushed actually. It was actually his first time to defend someone, moreover an entirely stranger to his blood relations. But somehow, he felt really good, just like the way he felt when he saw Tsuna. "Well, I know you guys didn't do it on purpose."

"Duh! It's not even my fault that I saw those dynamites on G's room!" Hayato said, further tightening his crossed arms.

"What?" Ryohei screamed. "There's dynamite in this house?"

"Stop asking, turf-top!"

Takeshi sighed. Looks like the energy bawlers were back in action. It's a good thing Tsuna was with him instead, clapping his hands as if entertained by the two boys.

Amidst all the happenings, the four kids didn't notice someone was limply watching them.

Or so as what the stranger thought.

…**:[]:…**

"What should we do about it, Giotto?" G asked, troubled at what they have learned in the meeting. They still have another round of it tomorrow, of course, for the contract signing that Giotto, as the head of Vongola, agreed to be allies with Kieren, the head of Suono. Giotto hummed in the process, before replying.

"The Estraneo family has been causing a lot of problems lately." Giotto said. Even though the said family was an ally, he couldn't afford risking the lives of children and women. Especially nowadays those experiments were really that famous. "I think we should reconsider."

"Giotto's right." Asari said. "We can never be too sure when the Esquilo will kidnap another child." Then he tightened his hold onto his yukata sleeve and said, "I don't want any of the children in our mansion gets involved with this."

"So, what are we going to do, Primo?" Lampo asked. He admittedly told himself and was known to the others that he hated brats, but this matter was entirely different and bothering. And he wasn't that heartless either. Giotto looked at him with a smile.

"We're going to do the best thing to do." Giotto said then turned to Alaude, "I think you know what I'm thinking, Alaude."

"Hn." Was all the cloud guardian replied before taking off.

…**:[]:…**

Daemon cursed beneath his breathing. Even though he's an awesome illusionist, and an aristocrat to point, there was no way that the holes in the hallways could be patched up in two days. He was not that merciless (yet) to bring forth death to the workers he just hired 2 and half hours ago. However, he was thankful that the workers managed to cover half of the hallways properly and the only missing pieces were the valuable things that was displayed and hanged in it. He sighed. This was definitely a nightmare to him.

He decided to take a break for the moment. And by break meant coffee.

Everyone in the house was a coffee-holic. Meaning, they cannot go through the day without drinking at least 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day. And a cup is as tall as a regular soup bowl for appetizers in a meal course. Many people would say 'caffeine is bad for the body when taken too much' but for the Vongola members, bad was as good as popping candy in their mouths. Who wouldn't need candies – er, coffee – in their system when all of them have heavy loads to take care of?

As soon as the mist guardian took a sharp turn away from the staircase, his eyebrows knotted like a pretzel. Well, of course not literally. He could feel his veins attempting to pop in their places and all the blood was rushing into his head. Why? Simple.

He saw a very undesirable person within his periphery.

It's none other than Mukuro.

"Oi, brat." Daemon called. He wasn't merciless, mind you. "What are you doing out of the infirmary?"

Mukuro flinched before turning towards Daemon, "I want to get water for myself but I got lost." He said truthfully. Sure, anyone would get lost if their new to the house. The Vongola Mansion was freakingly huge, even for 20 people!

Daemon laughed sadistically. "What a pitiful child! You can't even get water for yourself."

Yep, not yet merciless.

And Mukuro was still kind enough to accept those insults coming from his own father.

…Which he made a wrong move, "Father, I—,"

"DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT, BRAT!" Daemon seethed while holding Mukuro at the base of his collar, "I don't have a wife, let alone a son as disgusting as you do!" Then, he harshly pushed Mukuro out of his way and went to the kitchen.

Because of that, Mukuro was left sliding down at the wall that could be easily seen in the living room. The ruckus had caused the four young residents of the holed Vongola Mansion to redirect their attention from themselves towards the new voice. And that was the time when little Tsuna had his eyes on his new subject, best his arms as well. Takeshi has no choice but to clamber down the chair and walk towards the dejected guy.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around." Takeshi said, trying his very best not to drop the struggling Tsuna in his grip.

Mukuro looked at him with angry eyes, "What's it to you?"

"What's that bad attitude, hn?" Hayato said aloud, standing behind Takeshi with his hands both on his hips. "Takeshi was only asking, and you're mad at him?"

"What? You're also going to throw me away like he did? I didn't do anything wrong!"

That absolutely shocked the two kids. Now, Ryohei has come into the scene, crouched down to Mukuro's level and talked to him man-on-man. "We're just being friendly here. Besides, we didn't know what happened here so you can't accuse us of anything."

"I don't need your pity! Go away!"

Ryohei looked up and was met with two shaking heads. However, Ryohei noticed the continuous struggling of Tsuna and he interpreted it as wanting to be put down in the floor. Because of that, he pulled Takeshi's trousers to attract attention and pointed at Tsuna. Finally giving up, Takeshi put Tsuna down.

And what do you know. Tsuna made his way towards Mukuro.

Mukuro was beyond shocked when something so unfamiliar yet gentle and welcoming touched his knee, and when he looked up, he saw the brightest and most vibrant shade of brown in those huge eyes that was staring at him as if reading him whole. Tsuna looked at him further and made an experimental crawl in between Mukuro's leg and sooner, he was there, sitting and further looking up to Mukuro's eyes.

And it surprised them.

Tsuna was chuckling all the way, with his hands clapping altogether before launching himself to Mukuro's waist. The said boy was too shocked to move and even touched the baby's head without thinking. It felt nice actually. On the other hand, Takeshi, Hayato and Ryohei were kind of worried that Tsuna might get hurt in the process because they could feel a little hostility towards Mukuro. Not only because of the anger he displayed earlier, but because of the different aura he project towards them. And certainly, Tsuna was beginning to attract the newcomer as well.

Seconds later, all of them found Tsuna fast asleep in Mukuro's arms.

Takeshi snickered. "Looks like Tsuna got you too."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know." Takeshi replied and chuckled, "All we know is that Tsuna is so charming."

"Oi! Don't get so familiar with him!" Hayato exclaimed only to receive a playful punch from Ryohei.

"Don't be so loud, octopus head!" Ryohei added.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!" And thus started another brawl from the two hot-heads.

"Maa, maa, Tsuna is sleeping right now and you don't want to wake him up, do you?" Takeshi said cheerfully. And when the two doesn't still make it up, He turned his attention to Mukuro, "Well, I guess Tsuna gets to stay with you for the meantime."

Mukuro was still left gaping at them.

Well, duh.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! We haven't introduced each other," Takeshi said with a smile. Gesturing a hand he introduced the brawling kids first, "The one with the spiky hair is Ryohei. He's older than us four. Then the other guy who was wearing a necklace is Hayato." Then pointing at himself, he said, "I'm Takeshi! It's so nice to see you, uhm…what should I call you?"

Mukuro had a flush of red in his face right now. With the baby on his lap, a smiling Takeshi and two brawling idiots in front of him, he simply can't avert his eyes on them. He kept on looking at them, then not, then again; it's like a repetitive process. But what can he do? He was already caught, no matter how he not wanted to. Besides, his only purpose was the sole acceptance from his not-so-estranged father.

He sighed. He decided that this may be an easy way to get through. And he's not afraid to use anything, more like _anyone_ to his advantage.

But, he has to admit, this is freaking warm and comfortable.

Adjusting the baby to his hold, he looked at Takeshi's awaiting eyes and answered, "Mukuro." Although it's a bit soft to hear.

Takeshi's eyebrows crossed at that, "Huh?"

"I said my name is Mukuro."

Takeshi chuckled and took Mukuro's free hand between his, "Welcome!" he said and chuckled as he saw Mukuro's flushed expression before yanking his hands away.

"Don't touch me so familiarly!" Mukuro shouted. With that, he stood and unknowingly taking baby Tsuna with him.

"Have fun with Tsuna!" After that, he resumed stopping the two guys at his side.

…**:[]:…**

Alaude was strolling down the large garden, bypassing the huge maze that was situated in front of the large house. It was actually his relatives' house and anytime, he can go back there. Anyway, he was there to meet his cousin whom he asked to get the things he and the rest of the famiglia needed. It was of course ordered by Giotto, and even though he didn't want to get any connection with the said Primo, he can't help but be sucked into that gentleness. Alaude always loved feeling that mix of power and gentleness radiating from the Primo's body and even thrilled whenever he was granted with a fight.

His thoughts were easily broken when he felt a familiar aura walking towards him. Apparently that guy just threw a very sharp dagger towards him and smoothly, the cloud guardian caught it between his fingers.

"Never failed in catching, eh, Alaude?" the man clad in an expensive white suit said with a smile. Behind him were his assistant and butler who both bowed down before Alaude's presence.

"Hector," Alaude said before throwing back the dagger to Hector who actually caught it with ease, "I didn't come here to play games."

"Of course you don't." Then he gestured a hand for him to come inside, "Come on in. Alyanna was waiting for you too."

"Hn."

Once inside, Alaude saw approximately six, tall men standing in a double file, creating an aisle, while holding several briefcases. He was forced to stop at the middle and waited for Hector to speak, but most likely, he knew what the briefcases contain. Moments later, he heard a familiar girly shriek coming down from the mahogany spiral staircase. It was his younger cousin, Alyanna.

"Alaude!" Alyanna screamed and leaped her herself towards the expressionless man. Needless to say, but Alaude caught her in time.

"You shouldn't do that." Alaude said, "You could get hurt."

"Ha! As if you really look after my welfare." She joked.

"Not that to the extent, for your information."

"I know. Hector would be most delighted seeing me tripping down the stairs and rolling out the house." Alyanna said in a playful irritated tone, "You guys always like the gory stuff."

"Don't equate me to that crazy brother of yours. I have an organization to straighten every day."

Because of that, Alyanna chuckled. She thought that her brother and Alaude were almost the same, just minus the emotions that Hector has. Alaude has chosen the right time to completely ignore the female cousin and focused back on Hector. The said guy was still engrossed with six different suitcases until he picked the third one. The suitcase has Hector's family's crest – the Sognare Famiglia crest. Like any other coat of arms, the Sognare crest is like shield, with two rifles sitting at the top of an elegant fleur-de-lis and a dream catcher circle at the middle. Underneath was the name Sognare in Old English writing.

"What's taking you so long?" Alaude irritatingly asked. "I didn't come here for my time to be wasted in admiring your family crest."

Hector stopped smoothing his hands at the edges of the crest and looked up to his younger cousin with a smirk, "What's gotten your panties in a twist, Alaude?" Then earning a glare, Hector chuckled, "Okay, okay." He motioned his subordinate to open the chosen briefcase, and it revealed a filed stack of papers and a gun. Alaude raised an eyebrow to that, which Hector easily caught. "The gun's actually for you, cousin. The pile of papers you can see are the different profiles of the Esquilo Famiglia, although we can't get information about their boss and his right-hand man. And of course, this," The older Sognare held up a small cube device. "This is a recorder. As the name gives, it records all conversations done. I think this might come in handy so I asked Innocenti to make one for you."

Alaude didn't comment, instead took the briefcase and examined everything in it. He inwardly smirked. Everything was indeed going to what he planned. Closing the briefcase, he turned his heel and walked away from them. Hector was of course to stop him at point. "Hold on, mister. Aren't there any heartfelt gratitude to be given?"

Alaude raised an eyebrow.

Hector sighed, "Geez. Couldn't you be any colder?" But when he saw Alaude's unusual calm gazes, he shut his streams down and looked away, "Fine. Get out of my sight now. Just don't return here bloodied and all or else I'm going to bury you alive."

"As if you can." Then Alaude went back to the car and drove towards the Vongola Mansion.

Hector was pleased, when Alyanna was not. _Good luck…_ he thought.

…**:[]:…**

Mukuro was staring. Yes, he was staring - staring down at the bundle that was currently sleeping in his arms. He was staring down at the little movements that this little human being do that made him almost to admit that he's cute. But most of all, he was staring down at this child whom he unknowingly carried to what-part-of-the-house-I-am place.

He sighed. So he was going to play as a babysitter today, hm? He needed to get back to Chrome—

Oh no! Chrome was…

With such speed, even though still recuperating, Mukuro made his way towards the infirmary. He was lucky that he has brains and has a good sense of direction. He ignored all the stares from the disgusted maidservants and menservants (which were probably all Daemon's fault) and just made his way there. Once he was there, he saw a nurse whose eyebrows were creased, almost touching the nose bridge, and hands that hesitated to touch the little girl's body. His blood raged and pushed the nurse away.

"Get away from her!" he growled.

Getting up from the push, the nurse looked at Mukuro with angry eyes and crossed her arms, "You think you can do it all by yourself? Fine. Then heal her instead. I'm sure Master Daemon doesn't want anything to do with her anyway."

And because he came from the streets, it's not surprising that Mukuro learned a few 'words', "Curse you!" he said and threw the nearest flower vase to the nurse that sent alarm to the others. "Why are you all treating us like these? We didn't do anything to you!"

Thankfully, the vase was evaded by the nurse. The other nurses came inside and held Mukuro in place, "The mere fact you were born and brought pain to Master Daemon is what matters."

"LET GO OF ME!"

The nurses, not wanting to be "infected" by Mukuro's curse, immediately and disgustingly released Mukuro and left. The poor boy was left on the ground until he heard a few grunts coming from the bed.

"Mu-Mukuro…B-b-big br-br-brother…" Chrome said.

"Chrome!" Mukuro exclaimed and held her hand. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. But I heard people talking about you." Chrome said in a raspy, soft voice.

Mukuro shook his head, "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Chrome just nodded.

…**:[]:…**

Tsuna stared at the space provided for him. No one has even noticed that a two-year old was sitting near the bar and watching all the employees of the house walked around in circles and chatted with each other. Apparently, the kid was beyond curious now of how a normal human being worked every day - like walking, talking, eating, singing and the likes in his language – and he wanted to do that himself. But, he was bored. And he wanted that boy with a weird hairdo play with him.

Without guidance or anything, Tsuna made his own way on finding that boy. Miraculously, he was able to evade the taller humans silently. He was acting like a ninja in the 16th century. No one knew actually yet, but Tsuna has a sharp sense of feeling auras that he knew. Well, babies have strong abilities of feeling, but not as strong as Tsuna's. It was as if he knew which part of the house you're in once you and the tyke got in contact.

Oh well.

Minutes later (or almost an hour?), Tsuna slumped into the floor with tears threatening to flow down his cheeks. His eyes were looking at the infirmary door that was about 5 feet away from him. He wanted to go inside, but he can't because he felt so tired already. His knees gave up on him and with the cold floor hugging him, he fell asleep.

…**:[]:…**

Mukuro decided to leave his little sister first and look for his father. He can't really understand why his father, Daemon, doesn't want to acknowledge him and his sister as his children, with the evidence that he saw his father with his mother, Elena, talking to each other few days ago before getting ambushed by unknown people two days ago. Did his mother do something to be hated by his father? Or did they do something? What? He doesn't know. He can never know because no one would tell him. No one knew what he saw and heard. And he can't trust anybody but himself, Chrome and his own father regarding on this matter.

He sighed.

Walking outside the infirmary, he saw something lying almost lifelessly on the ground on his stomach. His insides churned when he caught sight of that massive brown hair and cream-soft baby skin that he held just a while ago. And it clicked on him.

It was the baby – the baby named Tsuna.

He hesitantly took small steps at first, but when he saw no movement from the baby, he took a leap from his position and went to the baby's side, gently holding him and lifting him to his chest. To his (secret) worry, he looked sideward and when he knew the coast was clear, he put his ear on the baby's chest to see if he's breathing. And it was. Bothered, he gave another good look on the baby, only to find out that Tsuna was fast asleep.

Mukuro snorted. The baby was probably lost into his own little world of rainbows right now.

He pushed some stray bangs behind Tsuna's ear and took a good picture of his form. Admittedly, he was entranced by Tsuna in a mysterious way, especially the eyes. The moment he saw those eyes of brown pools, he knew that there was something in Tsuna that kept him calm and giddy at the same time. He doesn't know, but he can feel it. Yes, Tsuna was a baby and definitely babies were cute, fun to cuddle, and mysterious; but this Tsuna (and redundantly speaking) was a whole different level. He was something. And Mukuro was eager to find it.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his shirt and saw Tsuna's face contorting into a grim expression. The grip was getting tighter and the baby started to squirm under his hold. He didn't know what to do and he knew that if he tried to ask, no one would help him or better yet snatch away the baby from him. At first he thought of that; he wouldn't have any problems anymore. He would not have babysitting moments and worry about the baby, but there was something inside him that doesn't want to let go of Tsuna as of the moment.

Call it a brotherly care.

Since he has a little sister, Mukuro exactly knew how to take care of a child, since his mother was getting so sickly already. Though he and Chrome were twins, Mukuro was taking care of Chrome and even took care of a baby from their neighbor. And so, with a slow rocking pace, Mukuro hummed an unfamiliar song to Tsuna and ran a hand on the baby's scalp to keep him calm. He pushed Tsuna against his chest closer, conveying that he was there for him to send the booboos away from him. And after thirty minutes or so, Tsuna was finally calm with a smile on his face, but his grip on Mukuro's shirt was still there.

Mukuro can't help but smile.

Looks like this was one thing that he was waiting for: acceptance from someone.

With that, he slowly stood, firmly gripped on the baby's fragile body and went to the nearest couch in the hallway.

And there, they slept together.

* * *

**A/N: WHEW! I THOUGHT I WILL NEVER FINISH THIS ONE! . Anyway, time for messages.**

**First of all, I want to thank one of my reviewers that pointed out about the baby stages. I pretty knew that much as well since I've been doing diaper change, feeding, and observing my youngest little brother when I was seven. But still, I thank you WinterGuardianAngel24-san for telling me all those things. :) But to tell you the truth, I really made Tsuna like that because I have plans for him.**

**As for Mukuro's little character this chapter, I know it's a little off-the-cliff because we do know that ROKUDO MUKURO is not EMOTIONAL. But he's a kid, and being a kid involves too many possibilities away from the original story and I could lead it to that. :) Just so you want dear readers.**

**Lastly, my mind is a little rusty at the moment due to the fact that my ideas have been diverted to a more destructive idea. And my mind has been eaten by kids. So, chapter six might not be updated soon too, but I have it written. It's for editing purposes.**

******Also, chapters one to four might get revised too. ^_^**

**By the way, I'm also looking for Betas since one suggested for me to find one, and I am convinced, not because of poor grammar, but to beautify my masterpiece. :)**

**I'll see you soon! :D Ciao~**


	6. Jealousy

**A/N: Well…I didn't expect a rush of ideas…that ended up posting weeks after.**

**And thank you for continuously sending in reviews! Even though I'm disheartened at what and where I am right now, your constant reviews made me happy. Your thoughts give me light too and your advices give me more room for thoughts for the plot. I really thank you guys.**

**By the way, always check my profile so that you can keep track of my activity. I'll try my best to update my status. And for those who are willing to Beta me, I'm accepting. :)**

* * *

**THE AMIABLE FLAME**

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

April 2012

* * *

**SIXTH FLICKER: Jealousy**

Daemon was beyond pissed as he almost glued his eyeballs into his pocket watch for checking the time at an endless manner. It's only a matter of time before Primo and the rest of the guardians arrive from their two-day meeting with the Suono Famiglia, and the holes in the second floor were not yet fully patched up. If he were to calculate, it was still around 70 percent of the total damage was restored (thanks to his scary persona and let the workers do their work faster. Talk about merciless) and he has to rely on his own power to "help". However, the remaining thirty might not finish, since G called and he said that they might go home.

Might. Go. Home.

But that doesn't mean that they will go home immediately.

Even interpreted as "we could stay a little longer".

And it was pissing him of. This was not the famiglia he was wishing for. This famiglia was filled with pathetic little excuses from the world and doesn't use their powers to become stronger and feared. For him, mafia was something to be bold, strong, feared, prideful and most of all, incredibly wealthy. The wealthy part has been achieved and all that Alaude brought into the house can feed them for a year already. That's how much they earn from missions. Not to mention the volunteer donations from allied families and others. What they needed now was an establishment of GREAT POWER ENOUGH TO BE FEARED, which Giotto GREATLY DISAPPROVED.

That thought brought the anger level up a ladder step.

Getting back at the main topic, Daemon's mind was in hysterics as to how he will be able to determine if those idiots will arrive or not, and at the same time figuring how to finish these holes in time. If he could just cover it with his illusions everything will—

Daemon snorted. How could he be so stupid? He could definitely use his illusions to at least cover it up for the moment. His illusions were legendary and can turn reality to dream, and dream to reality. Dust can materialize and materialization can be pulverized. It's as easy as ABC's. But the problem lay when he realize the "next time" when everybody will go out again and have the hallway fixed. He groaned. He can't possibly do everything at night when everybody's asleep. HECK, Giotto's a light sleeper and looks like the little Giotto-copy cat was like him too. G was average, but if he heard suspicious sounds, his alarms will go off. And like the goody right-hand man he was, he'll tell Giotto about the damn holes.

And everything will be his fault.

Damn kids running around the house.

Damn G for keeping those dynamites in his room.

ESPECIALLY DAMN Mr. Francesco for being so…so…

Daemon sighed. He can't blame the old man for being so old man and so cranky. Although he hated that old man, he still can't lay a finger because he was the one in-charge in the house. And he was excused for being an old man. Okay, that's just not understandable. Anyway, looking down at the holes, he did his illusions on one hole. He concentrated until the hole was filled with gravel and made it look like the floor. But once he stepped on it, he could still feel the roughness of the hole and itself. He groaned. He was not focused well at all. He tried again for the second time and with a little bit of rage, his illusion affected the other remaining holes, causing it to be filled with gravel, then the tiles and everything was like 'never-been-stepped-on' floor.

Daemon snorted at himself. Just simply genius.

Just then, Mr. Francesco appeared at the end of the stairway and handed him the phone. He raised his eyebrows at the lack of words and excuse from the head butler and picked the phone.

"Hello?"

"Daemon!" G exclaimed, causing for the mist guardian to push away the phone from his ears. "You didn't do anything to the kids, did you?!"

"Idiot G," Daemon gritted, "How many times did I tell you yesterday that I DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO YOUR PATHETIC WIMPS?! They're perfectly fine."

G held himself at shouting at the phone to 'spare' Daemon's ears and avoid being scolded by Giotto who was looking at him right now. He took a deep breath before talking again, but his voice was 2 decibels lower, "You better make sure they're alright or else I am going to shoot your heart point blank."

"As if you can pass through my illusions." Daemon bit back. "Anyway, why did you call again? I am assuming this is not the only thing you called for."

G made a 'hmph' sound before replying, "Yeah. Giotto said that we have to stay another day here. And since you're there," G snorted this time, " . . . . It means that you have to feed them, bathe them, tell them stories before bedtime, everything."

"Curse you…"

"And we'll love you for that, Papa-Daemon." Then G gave out a full-blast laugh the other side of the line which made Daemon purposely let G hear his teeth clenching loudly. Before he could retort, G spoke again, "That's all. Bye-bye~ Papa." Then a click.

Daemon gripped the phone and was only stopped from throwing it when he felt Mr. Francesco holding his wrist. For an old man, this butler was certainly strong. Talk about having the same element as his. When the said butler went away, Daemon went back to his work. His groan doubled when all the information rushed into his brain. All of his efforts were for nothing. He still have one day to let the workers accomplish the blasted floor.

Waste.

He was about to go to his room in the third floor when he spotted two bodies lying in a couch near the infirmary. At first, he thought that he was being played by his own illusions since he knew that those two souls doesn't know each other, and that the older might be aloof enough to not accept the younger. But his thoughts were wrong. What he can see now were the very solid bodies of Tsuna and Mukuro.

He moved a step.

Now, if you were paying attention, he was not going to reconcile with that bastard Mukuro. All he wanted was to satisfy his curiosity about how close they became. But, it's impossible since Mukuro and Chrome just arrived. Decided, he went down a floor and approached the two sleeping kids. He cannot deny that he was mesmerized by how they cuddle with each other. Plus, this was the first time he saw Mukuro cuddling another person aside from his little sister. He was about to reach his hand when he felt Mukuro twitch in his sleep and heard him say, "Mother…help…me…"

He was confused and shocked.

Why would Mukuro utter those three words in his sleep? What was he dreaming about? What happened to him back when he was still with Elena? A lot of questions were flooding his mind now, and no matter what he did, nothing would come out. He quickly retreated and went to his room, finding his phonebook and called an investigator.

"I want you to investigate something for me in two days". He said in a very dangerous tone. When he heard the man on the other line replied shakily, he proceeded on telling him the details and later shutting the phone off. He raked his hair with a sigh.

What was there in those three words?

…**:[]:…**

Fear.

It was clearly written in the faces of the students of Ares Mafia Academy, the world's greatest and most famous Mafia school. His hands were clenched and positioned for another bout of fight; blood trickling down the floor as one of the opponents fainted. His eyes were narrowed and a single movement brought his remaining enemies shaking. And in just a matter of minutes, maximum to an hour, 40 bodies were seen scattered in the hallways of the said academy. He was feared and at the same time respected by the other students because of his status. But most of all, he ruled them with fear.

He was the ruthless Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.

He was the youngest brother of the infamous and feared Alaude, head of the _Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia_ and National Italian Security Garrison.

He was Hibari Kyouya.

Some were wondering why he has a Japanese surname. Simple. He was half-Italian, half-Japanese. And for some personal reason, he used his mother's maiden name instead of his father's name.

He straightened himself out right after being satisfied of seeing his opponents immobile and crying like wimps. He can't brush his uniform since it would be stained by blood if he did. Instead, he elegantly walked over the corpse-like bodies and went to the nearest wash room.

He looked himself at the mirror and smirked. He was the epitome of the god of fear. Whoever that was. At the tender age of 6, he was able to learn the ways of his father since he was living with him and not his mother. Why? His mother died after giving birth to him. When he reached 7, his father decided that Alaude should take care of him, and by that meant teaching Kyouya everything. And for everyone's information, he hated his brothers.

Brothers?

Yes, brothers. Apparently, Kyouya was the youngest among five brothers, making Alaude the eldest at the age of 26. Kaito, who was a professor, was the second oldest; followed by Adriano, who was a doctor; then Apollo, who was still in school. To supply further information, Alaude was 18 years older than Kyouya, and the young raven could pass of as his son already. If you were wondering why their names weren't the same Italian descent, the answer lay between their father's and mother's nationalities. They have decided to do an alternate naming; however, 3 of the boys should have Italian names. And that's how it was.

Now, going back…

Kyouya had to 'punish' these students who lurk around the hallways of the academy because he caught those students playing illegal games. Even though they were in a mafia world, the academy was still an academy. What's forbidden should be forbidden. Heck, even drugs, unlicensed weapons and others were forbidden. When at the academy, the students must learn how to become a proper boss, a proper guardian, a proper assassin, sniper or whatever profession the kid wanted. It's all about mafia ethics and rules, and it depended on the person if he shall continue the path he has started and learn in the academy. Of course, outside the walls of the academy were the temptations, and the academy has no control of that. So, since Kyouya was the Chairman, he has to act like one, and personally, he didn't like them. NONE AT ALL.

He washed his hands, straightened his school uniform, and finally headed back to his classroom to get his belongings. It's just one of the rare days that he was out of his office.

…**:[]:…**

Meanwhile, Hayato, Takeshi and Ryohei were seated at the playroom, gathered in a triangular position facing each other, with nothing else to do but stare at the carpeted floor. They were both wondering, after all the fun they did, about Mukuro and Tsuna. True, they have seen the newcomer's attitude, but they can't help but feel nervous for Tsuna.

"Do you think," Ryohei softly spoke, pausing a while a clear his throat, "Tsuna will be alright with that guy?"

Contrastingly, Hayato was beyond seething point. If Takeshi didn't just give Tsuna to Mukuro, then they wouldn't be this worried, "How should we know? We don't even know where they are." He managed to control his voice.

Takeshi scratched the back of this neck, "Well, I am certain that he's in safe hands. After all, this is Tsuna we're talking about."

"Idiot!" Hayato said, "Juudaime's just 2 years old! And he isn't even learning to speak."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow, but Ryohei answered, "Hey, octopus-head, why isn't Tsuna speaking yet? He's two already. He could probably catch a phrase or two, or even single words."

Silence fell heavily between the three. It became the new topic for their brains to ponder on.

…**:[]:…**

Tsuna woke up and wiggled out from the arm that circled him. He can't determine where he was at first because of his blurry eyes, but the moment it adjusted, he realized that he was in a couch…

…with mister pineapple.

The tyke cocked his head sideward, curious of why this boy has a pineapple haircut. Surely, his parents were not that sadistic to let him have this kind of hair, right? However, it seemed that it was familiar to him, somewhere or someone. He just can't figure it out.

He moved just a little bit, enough for him to hoist himself up and sit atop the said boy's stomach. He touched his cheeks, lips, forehead, even the nose wherein he was rewarded with a slight twitch from the sleeping boy. He chuckled and clapped his hands, definitely amused. He decided he was going to like this boy. He laid down once again, now his tiny chest facing with a bigger stomach down him with his ears pressed close to the heart. It was nice and steady, like a melody, and eventually it set Tsuna to sleep.

Moments later, Mukuro woke up. Groggy, he can't comprehend yet where he was, but when he moved and peered down, he was surprised to see a mop of brown hair on his chest.

He was startled, causing him to sit upright fast. And the oblivious baby was going to topple on the hard floor.

It just so good he was good with reflexes.

Action and realization both hit him at once because the moment that he saw Tsuna's face, he abruptly held the little one with his arms, his hands supporting the head of course. He doesn't want to be the cause why this precious little thing was dead. He breathed out his adrenalin and worry, and leaned back to the backrest of the couch while holding the tyke against his chest. Looking down, he was amazed that the baby was still asleep, but what he couldn't understand was the way those little hands sneaked to grab his shirt and clutch it, plus letting out a contented sigh.

Mukuro can't help but blush.

Coughing, he carefully placed the said baby into the couch, afraid of almost dropping him again and ran a hand to his hair. Certainly, he was not ready for all of this and he was still wary of the foreign interactions from any of the household members, even the kids he met earlier. But, he can't understand why he felt so at ease as he held Tsuna. Was it because Tsuna was a baby? Or because he's too innocent for what was happening around him? Or maybe…

…he felt brotherly towards him, like the way he treats Chrome even though they were twins.

A fist connected to another fist and war from hell suddenly emerged. Though inexperienced, Mukuro surely knew how to defend himself since he was the only boy child and he needed to protect his mother and his sister from the prying people around them. He tried learning how to punch and kick here and there in order to survive. He needed to learn how to fool his enemies before they could fool him to their advantage. But since his inexperienced, his efforts were sometimes in vain. And this inexperience was showing as he exchanged blows with the mysterious intruder.

It took exactly twenty minutes before Mukuro decided to finally give up and collapsed on the cold floor awake with almost purple bruises and some cuts on his body and face. He never felt his chest hurt like this, both from excitement, fear, anger and ecstasy. His head was throbbing a bit since it was hit by that amazing punch and his left side was hurting due to that powerful kick. Who knew this kid before him can kick ass well? Was he a delinquent and an orphan? Or simply a bloodthirsty kid who doesn't care about the world?

His thoughts were suddenly broken when he heard a single, three-syllable word from the kid:

"Herbivore."

'_What?'_ Mukuro helplessly wondered. What was this guy talking about? Was Herbivore something to eat? To sit onto? A brand of soap? Or a name of person? The last option was not applicable though because his name was Mukuro and not that strange word.

The said intruder continued glaring at the purple-haired kid with a ridiculously funny haircut.

"Who are you?" Mukuro asked defiantly. Sure thing he doesn't know the baby on the coach, but he felt that he needed to protect him from this guy.

"An herbivore doesn't have any right to ask the carnivore." The kid said, his glare meeting the other. He was no longer in a fighting stance, however, still emitting a dangerous aura just in case the purple-head wanted some more. "And I should be the one asking you that." Sharpening his glare, he continued, "Who. Are. You?"

Mukuro gulped. This boy before him has a lot of guts and convinced himself that this guy was not someone to be taken for granted. And this guy before him was around his age only, so why act high and mighty and bow to his desires? "I asked you first." Mukuro said, returning the glare as he shielded the baby from the intruder "Isn't it a bit rude to punch me without even introducing yourself?"

The said boy didn't respond at first and continued staring at Mukuro, however, the glares were lessened to a softer tone and a sigh came after. He seemed to realize that arguing with this pineapple stranger was useless as he was. "I'm Hibari Kyouya," Kyouya said with a dark childish tone, "and you will only call me Hibari. You will distance yourself from me if you don't want to get bitten." Then, not caring about the other, he swiftly yet gently picked the sleeping baby to his chest, much to the surprise of the other. "And, you have no right to just handle Tsunayoshi because you are under watch."

Mukuro's eyes widened at that. He didn't know he's under watch, plus was his mere presence that terrible to treat him and his sister like that? What's so wrong about just seeing your father and longing for his acceptance, wishing to have a family? His face was darkened under his bangs and kept himself from showing any shivers, and when he looked back, his gaze was intensified, sending Kyouya a small step back, nevertheless showing no indication of fear towards the purple-head.

"And who told you that I want that brat to be with me?" Mukuro answered, "The stupid overly-happy kid handed me that brat-what-so-ever-his-name." He stood and advanced a few steps towards the infirmary, and before going back completely, he turned to Kyouya, "Keep him to yourself."

Kyouya wasn't able to answer and watched the retreating back of the purple-head. It was a mistake that he didn't catch on his name (and he might have no second chances of knowing either), but he was having a thought that this boy was not dangerous…at least just yet. What bothered him a bit was the almost transparent sadness sheathing his eyes.

And suddenly, he felt his chest moved.

Tsunayoshi was looking at him, not with amusement, but with evident fear and sadness that his new friend left. Even though he doesn't still have all the capacity to speak, he has this extreme sensitivity, and he felt Mukuro's sadness the moment he was adjusted to someone else's body. Kyouya didn't even blink and he saw Tsunayoshi's arms pressed closed to his tiny chest, fingers curled and shoulders hunched a little, all with a trembling package.

Then suddenly, he cried.

Kyouya practically held Tsunayoshi by the armpits once the baby started wailing. Good thing there were no nurses or maids around or he will be so busted to his older brother whom he hated so much for being so…nevermind. Anyway, he doesn't know to handle a child because it was simple: he's the youngest. And being the youngest doesn't mean that you have everything and learn everything including babysitting. He tried shaking Tsunayoshi up and down a bit to calm him but no to avail. He tried cooing, which he failed miserably, and didn't work as well. He tried.

Then, just then…

He remembered Tsunayoshi's serene face when he was still sleeping beside purple-head's protective form.

He creased his eyebrows.

So the kid doesn't like him? Hence, he was feared?

He grumbled and turned his heel, much to his discomfort and stepping down a level from his promise to Daemon, and went to the infirmary. He saw two figures and surprisingly, two purple-heads. If he was any other boy he would have just sang Eeny-meeny-mini-moe to decipher who was who. However, he was able to tell which was which: the earlier purple-head was sitting on a mini sofa and his slightly sharper and gentle eyes gave the clue. On the other hand, the other purple-head on the bed was pale and asleep, and the hair was much thinner in volume than the boy. He assumed that they're twins as seeing their hairstyles were the same.

He's not wrong at that assumption, he was not only sure.

He walked grumpily towards the purple-head and without saying anything, he put the crying baby on top of his lap, making the purple-head glance at him with surprised eyes. The crying brought an alarm inside the infirmary, waking purple-head number two to stir from sleep. Annoyed, purple-head number one glared at Kyouya and said,

"You made my sister awake!" Then looking down at the still crying baby (probably because of the loud voice Mukuro produced) and held him out dangling by the armpits, "Why are you giving this baby to me? Didn't you say that I don't have any right to hold him?!"

Kyouya huffed irritatingly. Even though he said that and he was under order (actually everyone in the family, he guessed) of Daemon, he cannot deny that the baby doesn't like him. The little herbivore preferred the purple herbivore over him, the carnivore. "I gave him to you in order for you to make him stop crying." He said in a deadpanned voice.

Mukuro was furious of course. What was he? A babysitter? He didn't come here to take care of some child he didn't know. "Who are you for me to take orders? This is already your problem and not mine! I have a sister to take care and he's definitely not my responsibility!"

"CAN'T YOU SEE HE DOESN"T LIKE ME?!" Kyouya finally snapped, losing his usual cool and reserved personality to some feeling that was entirely foreign to him. There was a pool of bubbles in his chest that made it hurt and his rage for something he doesn't know rose every minute. Could it be because he was rejected by the baby?

Like the way he was with his brothers?

He took one deep breath and continued talking. "I'm giving him to you because he seemed comfortable with you a while ago."

"You…You're watching?" Mukuro asked, with his eyes widened as he was shocked to hear that from the other. From his short stay inside the house, never once he had heard the baby shooing someone away, or reacting negatively against somebody. And like some rare opportunity, he got to have the chance to see who the little one with dislike. "Who are you, really?"

Kyouya sighed. "I already told you my name, idiot. And I did watch. I saw you sleeping in the couch the moment I arrive and…" he paused for a moment, revealing his unusual sad side, but not that much to reveal, and continued in a barely inaudible whisper, "…you two looked comfortable together."

Mukuro was not some idiot to not catch the last part of the sentence. He was surprised (for the third time) to see Kyouya's expression. It seemed that not everyone got a perfect life even though they have money, fame and glory. He looked away, bringing down the crying Tsunayoshi down his lap and the moment skin connected with skin, Tsuna's crying was reduced to sniffing and eventually fell asleep. Silence was ensued a warm, sad feeling. He knew that expression because he was just like that, may he admit it or not. Somehow, he could understand the feeling Kyouya was projecting and from the looks and actions the other portrayed, he said,

"You're jealous, aren't you?

Kyouya stared shock towards the purple-head. Who was he to tell him that? Who was he to assume things? He was jealous? Oh come on, carnivores don't get jealous over mingling herbivores. Carnivores do not need friends. Carnivores fended themselves and don't need help from other carnivores because they were strong.

But why do carnivores experience pain too if they were strong?

"Jealous?" he asked in a rather confused voice, "How could I be jealous? What was it like?"

"Idiot." Mukuro said, "You look like you're smart, but you are an idiot at this thing. That expression you're showing me is a sign of jealousy. You want this baby to acknowledge you."

"Shut up purple-head!" Kyouya exclaimed, bringing the sleeping patient to be fully awakened and watched the scene with worry.

"Brother…" the other purple head spoke hoarsely.

Mukuro immediately stood, with the baby still pressed close to his chest, and went to his sister's side. "Chrome," he said anxiously, "Are you okay? I'm sorry about the noise. Is there some—,"

"Brother…" Chrome muttered, forcing herself to smile, "I'm okay…"

"You're supposed to be sleeping more."

"I'll sleep later," then she saw the baby, "Whose baby is that?"

Mukuro looked down at the baby then to his sister. It seemed that his sister has taken a liking to the baby since this was her first time seeing a real baby. Chrome was not the type to go outside the house and so everyone thought in the village that Mukuro was only a single child. Without hesitation, he laid the sleeping baby beside Chrome and said, "His name is…uh…"

"Tsunayoshi." Kyouya supplied, albeit his voice was a little softer.

Mukuro sent him a glare and grumbled to himself, still not over with what Kyouya did a while ago, then turned his attention back to Chrome. "What that guy said is true."

Chrome chuckled weakly and carefully combed the hair of the baby, "He's cute. I think his name suits him so much."

Mukuro didn't comment. He doesn't really plan on letting Chrome see the kid. He doesn't want her to have a connection with this kid's family simply because of his own fear of being rejected. Like Kyouya, he was jealous of Tsuna because he was able to attract everyone in the house. Well, not that he was sure of that thought, but he could see that Tsuna could bring out smiles from the people around him. No matter how grumpy the person was, he could still interact with that person without fear. If Chrome got attached to Tsuna, no wonder that everyone in the house will think badly of them further, telling that they were trying to kidnap Primo's son or taking him as a hostage.

However, he can't understand why he can't take away Tsuna from Chrome. Then it hit.

Chrome was showing her rarest and most genuine smile that Mukuro missed so much over the years. The baby has subconsciously snuggled close to her, feeling her chest against his cheeks and releasing a quiet yawn. The baby must have felt that this was a girl and it was natural for girls to have this 'maternal instincts' even though they're still young. And apparently, Chrome was the type to be caring, and Mukuro was the very witness to that personality. The baby's hand clutched Chrome's white clinic robe as if scared to be taken away and took an action to it already. Mukuro hid a stifle. The scene was just too cute.

Seeing that everything was settled, Kyouya decided to leave the trio in peace. Plus, he doesn't want to see anymore of this scene or else he doesn't know what his own self will do. His emotions were currently caught in a maelstrom.

Until he was caught by Mukuro's hands.

"I think I haven't apologized and introduced properly to you." Mukuro muttered, releasing the wrist in thought of Kyouya not liking it, "I'm Mukuro, and she's my younger twin sister, Chrome. I am sorry for what I said to you."

Seriously, if Kyouya was any other guy, he would have blushed a hundredfold. But since he's a carnivore, he suppressed the urge of doing so and remained arrogant in front of the two purple-heads, as he deemed calling them. "I don't need a sorry from a weak herbivore like you." He said. With a short glance, he turned towards the door and pulled it, "Like I said, the baby doesn't like me, but it doesn't mean you can have him forever. You're still banned." Then he left.

Mukuro gaped and smirked. Looks like it would be a fun challenge to him to see other expressions from Kyouya. Once the raven haired left, he quickly turned his heel and went back to Chrome. "You seemed to be getting used around Tsunayoshi."

Chrome chuckled. It's like as if she doesn't have any injuries to heal. "I am. I was wondering earlier what if we did have a little brother or sister. I think it would be fun."

"It could, not if mom died before us."

Chrome fell silent at that. She was the closest child to her mother and Mukuro knew that. She would always help her in chores, be the one to massage their mother's aching back and head and entertaining their mother by her sweet smiles and made-up stories. But everything was destroyed when some mafia attacked them, killed their mother and beat them up to death; and if their father, Daemon, and his companions have come to save them, they would probably found in the same position their mother was. It made them lost and it already crossed their mind that what if they died along with their mother. They wouldn't have to meet their enraged father and practically beg for his love. But, it's still better than never, right?

Chrome smiled sadly.

"You know, brother," she said softly, making Mukuro look to her, "I heard everything what father said the day we arrived here. I just didn't have the courage and strength to talk…"

"I'm sorry that you have to hear that…" Mukuro said.

Chrome shook her head. She completely understood what her brother felt that day. They were both battered and weak, and the environment that they have stumbled into was so foreign for them to the point that they could merge with the floor in an instant. What's worse, they came from a poor village and these people who salvaged them from their misery were people of high status.

She smiled at her brother and replied, "It's okay." Then she tried sitting, leading Mukuro to guide her back to lean at the headboard of the bed, "I know that we have surprised father, like what mom told us about him not knowing that we are his children. But, I can't help wonder the way he looked at us before, as if he knew us from the start."

"I'm sure he didn't." Mukuro said, "He didn't even visit us before. So it's impossible for him to know that."

"Hmmm…" Chrome hummed in contemplation. She was having a feeling that there was something behind their father's behavior.

…**:[]:…**

Kyouya went down to the dining hall right after he changed into a more casual outfit. He talked to the maid to get him his chosen food and let himself slump on the table. Seriously, he was tired – tired from school, beating law-breakers, and most of all the deal with Tsunayoshi and that guy, Mukuro. He was still bothered by what that purple-head said,

_You are jealous, aren't you?_

He buried his head further onto the table, hoping that it would mold itself flat on it. Among all the emotions he knew, this was the most difficult emotion he has ever encountered. Of course, he knew what jealousy was, but he couldn't just pinpoint what it was alone. How was it occurring? How was it solved? How was it measured? Was there any scientific evidence behind this jealousy? Or some philosophical debate on how this jealousy was made? There were a lot of questions, but none of them has an answer for a kid like him.

Soon, his food arrived. It's already mid-afternoon and there were no heavy meals left except for the lasagna that probably the other kids suggested. Well, the head chef of Vongola particularly loved kids and she'll do anything to please them. After all, she has her own kid to feed. Alongside with the lasagna was a glass of iced tea and a blueberry cheesecake on a medium sized platter. Personally, he loved blueberry cheesecakes, the only cake his taste buds accepted. Anyway, he proceeded in eating; still thinking about the conversation he had with Mukuro and how the little Vongola quieted within his hold. He somewhat felt…unwanted. Before, he watched the other kids playing with Tsunayoshi and how the baby interacted with them was something intriguing at the same time pleasant to watch at. But he was wondering why the moment he had Tsunayoshi, the kid cried and he can't stop him from crying. It was a mix of emotions and he really doesn't know what to do, then that? That moment he saw with Mukuro?

That was something…worth the envy…

But envy is synonymous to jealousy, right?

So, he's jealous?

He was about to shake his head with his hands when he felt something landed on his shoulder to snap him out of his thoughts forcefully. Unlikely of him, he jumped inches high and twisted around to see who the demon infiltrated his privacy circle.

Apparently, it was his older brother, Daemon. And among his so-called other older brothers, Daemon was the closest.

He creased his eyebrows in annoyance when he saw the older smirking at him like no tomorrow, clearly saying that 'I-got-you-so-you-don't-have-a-say'. "What do you want?" he asked arrogantly.

Daemon chuckled. It's nice to see some of the expressions Kyouya has been keeping for years. "Nothing much. I just want to mess with your little daydreaming expedition."

"Shut up. I have no interest on talking to you today."

"Oh, but I know you are." Daemon pressed on, inching a little too carefully beside Kyouya. "I know that mad expression of yours. Did something happen in school?"

"Hn, not much. Those guys were pretty much useless." Kyouya replied, scooping a slice of lasagna to his mouth.

Daemon put his left cheek on his left hand and hummed, "I think there's something more than 'biting to death' those guys of yours."

"They're not mine, idiot!" Kyouya exclaimed, making Daemon chuckle a little. It was followed with a relative silence as Daemon watched him comfortably eating his food. When he was down to eating his dessert, Kyouya finally broke the silence, "There's something I want to ask, brother."

Daemon was slightly taken aback by that. It has been a long time since Kyouya called him 'brother' and whenever Daemon was teasing the lone skylark; he would be always ending into a clumsy fight with Kyouya. Nevertheless, he entertained Kyouya's request. "What is it?"

"I saw Mukuro today," Kyouya said as he fiddled the cake with the mini fork he was holding. He didn't notice the slight flinching action of Daemon's shoulder or the widening of his eyes. "and he was with Tsunayoshi."

"He was?!" Daemon exclaimed, pushing the chair and slamming his hands on the table, making Kyouya look at him with surprised eyes. He breathed out as he sat back and said, "Why did you give Tsuna to him? Didn't I tell you he was not allowed to touch Tsuna?"

Kyouya's surprised expression turned to a frown, "You could have done that a while ago, you know? Besides, the kid seemed to like Mukuro."

"How can you say that? Tsuna hasn't even made any friendly contact with him."

"I saw him how he clung at Mukuro's clothes." Kyouya took a slice and ate it, then continued speaking, "Then when he laid Tsunayoshi down to his sister's side, the baby even snuggled her. I don't understand. When I held him, he cried." The last sentence came off as a mumble.

Daemon blinked twice, processing the information he had learned from the other before laughing. Seriously, this was the first time he saw Kyouya like this. He'll deal with Mukuro and Chrome later, but he needed to take action on this. "You're jealous!"

"I am not jealous!" Kyouya shouted, catching the attention of the other maids that passed by the dining hall.

"Boy, Kyouya, you sure are a kid in this field." When he got a glare from Kyouya, Daemon continued speaking, "I don't mean you being a kid, okay? What I mean was you're too dense when it comes to relationships like friendship."

"Friendship?" Kyouya said, the letters rolling off his tongue like a foreign word. "What's with that?"

Daemon sighed. Looks like this was going to take longer than expected. "You're jealous because you wanted to get Tsuna's affection like he was with the others. Probably one reason why he got scared of you is because of the aura or the expressions you show. I am no expert and I only hear this from Giotto, but babies can feel thousands of sensations."

"I don't understand…"

"You probably don't understand because you're the youngest among your brothers," Daemon said carefully, using Kyouya's relationship with his brothers as an example. "You tend to get jealous because of your older brothers because they are favored than you are, or your father has been expecting something from you that will surpass your brothers. Alaude was 18 years older than you and he could pass off as your father; and because of that, gap has been created."

"How can you say that? You don't even have a brother." Kyouya spat.

"I do. Although, one died already; and the oldest among us three was the heir of our noble line. I'm the middle child."

"Oh."

"But what has it got to do with jealousy and friendship?"

"Idiot! You're not listening, are you?" Daemon said and smacked the back of Kyouya's head, earning a sound of 'ow' from the younger's lips. Then, he gathered Kyouya's cheeks into his hands and forcefully made him look at him, "Look at me, Kyouya," When he got the attention, he continued, "You can only affirm that if you confront Tsunayoshi and Mukuro once again. I think that is your next lesson to life, Kyouya."

* * *

**A/N: Oookay, late submission once again. Anyhow, here's the update. :D And it seems like this was shorter than expected.  
**

**I will also take this opportunity to straighten out any misled information regarding ages. So, everyone, here are as follows:**

**Giotto: 24 (he older than G and Asari)**

**Tsuna: 2 (turning 3)**

**G: 24**

**Hayato: 4**

**Asari: 24 **

**Takeshi: 4**

**Alaude: 26**

**Kyouya: 8 **

**Daemon: 28**

**Mukuro: 7**

**Chrome: 7**

**Knuckle: 28**

**Ryohei: 6**

**Lampo: 19**

**Lambo: ha-hun…that is to find out in the next chapters. :P**

**I'm terribly sorry for the lateness of my update. As usual, a lot of things happened here and my mind can't get into a straight path. Things are getting interesting now, so stay tuned! :D**


	7. The sad fate called blockage

**AUTHORESS' NOTE: Please read heartily.**

**Dear my precious readers. I know that I have disappointed you but alas, the day of doom has loomed over me. MY PLOT NOTEBOOK HAS GONE MISSING! It includes my newest story and my plotlines for The Amiable Flame. Plus, I noticed some plot hole in my story that threw me overdrive in intense thinking until I reboot…=_= **

**And so, my lovelies, The Amiable Flame is on hiatus. I'll be rewriting the whole story. But fear not I won't delete it.**

**As for my new stories, it's entitled "Unimaginable" and "The Rainbow's Guidance". I'm sure you're all familiar with the second title of who the characters will be. These two will sport drama, adventure, action and fluff at the same time. Plus, I have 2 one-shots to come (and supposedly those two should have been posted last September. =_= Pardon me…) and I can say it is filled with fluff (it is to me though…:D).**

**I am really sorry for the long wait, and if you are so disappointed waiting for a next chapter. Chapter 7 is actually almost done, but the realization was brought as I write this chapter. I'll try to post chapter 7 before going on hiatus, but if in a week, there's still no post, then you know what it means already. :D**

**This authoress' note shall be erased once the editing is done. :D Thank you for your patronage. I love you all.**

**By the way, I still haven't forgotten those readers who shared their thoughts for my story. Well, well, lucky you, your thoughts will be included in the improved TAF. :D Double thanks to you guys! :D**

**Over and out!**

**Danielle Luna Soulhart**

**November 2012, 2:06 pm**


End file.
